Congratulations, Galecto!

We would like to congratulate Galecto Biotech on their recent IPO announcement (GLTO). We are so thrilled for the team in reaching this exciting milestone. Reflecting back on our initial investment, Galecto checked a couple of “firsts” for Maverick Ventures.

Back in Fall 2018, before Covid-19 and our current norm of Zoom-only meetings, we met the Galecto team entirely virtually and performed all of our diligence from afar using email, calls, and of course, Zoom. It wasn’t until post-investment that we met face-to-face in Copenhagen. While this may not seem like much of a stretch in today’s world of Zoom-only meetings, this was a new experience for us and one that prepared us well for the current environment. Galecto was also our first private investment in continental Europe, further affirming our belief that innovation can happen anywhere in the world, whether nearby in Silicon Valley or in a biopark in the middle of Copenhagen.

Among Galecto’s impactful work is their progress in addressing idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a devastating disease that causes irreversible decline in lung function. IPF is deadlier than most cancers including breast cancer, prostate cancer, & lymphoma, killing 40,000 patients per year in the US alone, yet has limited treatment options. Galecto’s promising drug candidate may have the power to improve the outlook for the disease and the lives of those afflicted. Galecto’s work does not stop at IPF — the company is creating a broader platform focused on fibrotic & related diseases.

Again, huge congratulations to Hans Schambye and the rest of the team. We are very proud to have been a small part of the journey to date and we look forward to witnessing the continued innovation from this team.

The views expressed herein are solely the views of the author(s) and are not necessarily the views of Maverick Capital, Ltd. or any of its affiliates. They are not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, investment advice.