Hatteras adds Witty and Sharpless, seeks $100M fund
The Durham healthcare venture firm named Sir Andrew Witty chairman and Ned Sharpless managing director as it opens Hatteras Opportunity Fund II.
Durham-based Hatteras Venture Partners has added two senior healthcare leaders and announced the first closing of Hatteras Opportunity Fund II, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center reported on Nov. 5, 2026. The firm is targeting up to $100 million for the new fund.
Sir Andrew Witty, former chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline and UnitedHealth Group, was named chairman, a newly created role. He previously served as a venture partner at Hatteras from 2017 to 2019. Norman "Ned" Sharpless, M.D., a former director of the National Cancer Institute and former acting commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, joined as managing director of Hatteras Discovery Innovation, succeeding Christy Shaffer. Sharpless co-founded G1 Therapeutics, which received its first institutional investment from Hatteras.
"To build great healthcare companies, you must have a great team," said Clay Thorp, a founding general partner of Hatteras Venture Partners. "The addition of Andrew and Ned brings a complementary set of relationships and experiences to our longstanding and next-generation partners."
Hatteras Opportunity Fund II will make concentrated follow-on investments in selected portfolio companies as they approach clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones. Hatteras manages more than $1 billion focused on biotechnology, medtech and healthtech, and about 25% of its portfolio companies have been based in North Carolina.
About this story
By Sotwire Desk. Written by Sotwire Desk from the sources below. Not a company attestation.
Sotwire Desk. Written by a named Sotwire editor from the sources cited below. Not a company attestation. Sotwire corrects errors publicly.
Key facts
- Hatteras Venture Partners
- Durham, NC
- Hires
- Desk reported
- Sotwire Desk
- Sir Andrew Witty
- Norman "Ned" Sharpless, M.D.
- Hatteras Opportunity Fund II, targeting $100 million
- More than $1 billion
Key events
- NCBiotech reports Hatteras senior appointments and HOF II
Sources
- Hatteras Venture Partners adds two senior execs, seeks new $100M fund · North Carolina Biotechnology Center · accessed 2026-11-06
- Hatteras Venture Partners Names Sir Andrew Witty as Chairman and Ned Sharpless, M.D., as Managing Director of Hatteras Discovery Innovation · Hatteras Venture Partners · accessed 2026-11-06