Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russia-born billionaire, smiles on a soccer pitch in Monaco on March 17, 2024. For over a decade, Rybolovlev has invested in American biotech firms through a now-unraveling partnership.

A fierce dispute between an American venture capital firm and the family investment office of a Russian billionaire has trickled down into the Bay Area. In December and January, four local biotech companies with stakes in the battle each filed for bankruptcy.

The argument pits New York’s Apple Tree Partners, a biotech-focused venture investor, against Rigmora, an investment entity owned by the family office of Dmitry Rybolovlev, who made his billions in the Russian fertilizer industry. Over the past 13 years, almost all of Apple Tree’s funding — north of $2.3 billion — has come from Rigmora, with the firm then directing that cash toward biotech startups tackling cancer, blindness, opioid addiction, obesity and other medical challenges.

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In the cash-intensive world of pharmaceutical research, Apple Tree’s portfolio companies have benefited enormously from their deep-pocketed Russian backer. But now the relationship is unraveled; last year, Apple Tree and Rigmora launched legal suits against each other and began throwing barbs in the press. Cash for the biotech startups dried up, and Apple Tree’s CEO said in court that the companies cut 70% of their total workers.

Apple Tree mostly won its case, with a Delaware judge ordering Rigmora in December to cough up $97 million to give........

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