ICOS spin-off gets first round and exec team

Calistoga Pharmaceuticals has garnered $21 million in its first round of venture capital and a line-up of executives to run the start-up biotech company. Frazier Healthcare Ventures led the round for the ICOS spin-off and Michael Gallatin, Ph.D, was named president. Alta Partners, Three Arch Partners, and Amgen Ventures also participated in this financing round. Eli Lilly, which bought ICOS last January, also participated in the financing.

Calistoga will focus on developing therapies for oncology and inflammation. Researchers will focus on p110 delta, which is an isoform of PI3 kinase, a class of signaling targets in cancer and inflammatory cells.

"With the acquisition of this program from ICOS, and the significant fundraising accomplished, Calistoga is positioned to be a leader in this field," commented James Topper, MD, PhD, a general partner at Frazier Healthcare Ventures.

- check out the release on the round
- and here's the article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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