# John Ballantyne

> John Ballantyne is a seed investor at Aldevron (Fargo) backing Health Care and Biotechnology. See 11 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Aldevron](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/aldevron)
- Location: Fargo, United States
- Total investments: 11
- Last investment: Sep 2024
- Lead investor: 55%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ballantyne-1099122

John Ballantyne is a founder of Agathos Biologics. He co-founded Aldevron with Michael Chambers in 1998 and has been the Chief Scientific Officer since its establishment. His innovative work at Aldevron includes creation of the GMP Source product line and collaborative research with military scientists in the development of vaccine andpassive-based countermeasures to lethal and potentially weaponized viral hemorrhagic threats such as Ebola, Marburg and some hantavirus family members. He leads the research and development team at Aldevron which develops new methods and products through internal programs, collaborations, and technology licensing. John sees the advances in biotechnology providing opportunities for Agathos to enable ethical pharmaceutical development that will benefit patients, employees, and society. Ballantyne received undergraduate degrees in Pharmacy from the Central Institute of Technology and the University of Otago in New Zealand. After beginning graduate school in New Zealand he transferred to the United States in 1994 and completed his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences at North Dakota State University.

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $4.5M–$7M |
| Series A | $12M–$30M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Health Care | 8 | 73% |
| Biotechnology | 8 | 73% |
| Therapeutics | 4 | 36% |
| Life Science | 3 | 27% |
| Medical | 2 | 18% |

16 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 4 | 36% |
| Series A | 2 | 18% |
| Angel | 1 | 9% |
| Pre-Seed | 1 | 9% |
| Series B | 1 | 9% |

7 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 10 | 91% |
| Singapore | 1 | 9% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VerImmune | Located in Baltimore, Maryland, VerImmune is an Immuno-Oncology company developing a first-in-class cancer therapy known as Anti-tumor Immune Redirection. This strategy utilizes a proprietary tumor-specific, tumor type agnostic, virus-inspired platform termed Anti-tumor Immune Redirection Virus-inspired Particles (AIR-ViPs) that redirectspre-existing pathogenic or childhood vaccine immune memory towards tumors. | $4.5M | Seed | Sep 23, 2024 |  |
| GlucoTrack | GlucoTrack is a medical device manufacturing company that specializes in developing a non-invasive glucose monitoring devices. It has developed a medical device that measures glucose levels using three non-invasive technologies, ultrasound, thermal, and electromagnetic. | $4M | Post-IPO Equity | Jul 31, 2024 |  |
| Elegen | Elegen is a biotechnology company that develops microfluidic technology. It is driven by a mission to deploy this technology in a new generation of DNA synthesizers aimed at enabling and accelerating biomedical advances. The company was founded in 2017 and led by Dr. Matthew Hill. | $35M | Series B | May 14, 2024 |  |
| Thrixen | Thrixen is a biotech/Medtech company that aims to revolutionise the diagnostic technology for the detection of biomarkers at the chemistry level to unlock the next generation of diagnostic and health care monitoring tools that are simple and accessible at the point of care/need. | $7M | Seed | Apr 29, 2024 |  |
| Cytonus Therapeutics | Cytonus Therapeutics is a biotech company that develops a therapeutic platform designed to treat immune-related disorders. The Cargocyte platform at Cytonus has diverse applications as it can be engineered to target specific tissues and can deliver strategic therapeutic payloads. | $11.7M | Series A | Nov 03, 2023 |  |
| JURA Bio | Jura Bio is a therapeutics company focused on translating successes in CAR-T to autoimmune disorders. Elizabeth Baker Wood and Julie Norville founded it, with its headquarters in Somerville in Massachusetts. |  | Seed | Sep 21, 2023 |  |
| CureLab Oncology | CureLab Oncology is a biotechnology company developing revolutionary therapies for oncology patients. | $3M | Venture - Series Unknown | Dec 22, 2022 |  |
| Myosana Therapeutics | Myosana Therapeutics is a new biotech company developing novel platform technology for non-viral gene delivery. Myosana Therapeutics has developed a non-viral gene delivery platform technology that specifically targets muscle cells to produce the missing protein caused by a mutation of a gene. | $5M | Seed | Dec 07, 2022 |  |
| Curelab Veterinary | Curelab Veterinary operates as an animal-health company that specializes in treating breast cancer in dogs and cats. | $2.5M | Angel | Nov 21, 2022 |  |
| Kytopen | Kytopen develops genome engineering platforms that enable cell therapy research and manufacturing. The company provides non-viral gene delivery systems that facilitate the delivery of mRNA, DNA, and CRISPR Cas9 RNP into cells while retaining cell functionality. Its Flowfect® technology allows high-throughput transfections and scalable optimizationfrom small experiments to large-scale manufacturing.Kytopen’s platforms include Flowfect Discover™ for automated small-volume screening and Flowfect TX® for large-scale delivery, supporting drug discovery and process development. The systems integrate electrical, mechanical, and chemical forces to fine-tune gene delivery, enabling controlled and predictable scaling. The company’s solutions focus on removing bottlenecks in gene delivery and streamlining the transition from laboratory research to therapeutic production. | $30M | Series A | Sep 28, 2021 |  |

10 of 11 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [22Health Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/22health-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [ACVC Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/acvc-partners) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Agilent Technologies](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/agilent) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Alexandria Venture Investments](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alexandria-venture-investments) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Alix Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alix-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [AME Cloud Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ame-cloud-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Aldevron

VC Fund · Fargo, United States

Aldevron provides contract manufacturing and scientific services. It specializes in plasmid DNA, protein production, and antibody generation. It combines best-in-class products and service with the ideal operating environment to lay the groundwork for vital new discoveries worldwide. Its services include Plasmid DNA Production, Protein Production,Antibody Discovery, mRNA Production, and other related services.It was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, United States.

5 contacts available at Aldevron.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| John Ballantyne | CSO & VP | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/john-ballantyne |
| Andrew Olsen | Marketing & Client Development Manager | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/andrew-olsen-cb5f |
| Jenny Stafford | VP, General Manager | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jenny-stafford |
| Kevin Ballinger | Chief Executive Officer | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/kevin-ballinger |
| Michael Chambers | Founding CEO & Executive Chairman | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/michael-chambers |

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## FAQ

### What does John Ballantyne invest in?

John Ballantyne invests primarily in Health Care, Biotechnology and Therapeutics startups, most often at Seed and Series A stage. Most of the 11 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is John Ballantyne's check size?

John Ballantyne typically joins rounds of $4.5M–$7M at Seed and $12M–$30M at Series A. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds John Ballantyne participates in.

### When did John Ballantyne last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for John Ballantyne closed in Sep 2024. Shizune tracks 11 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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