San Francisco-based startup Cyterix Pharmaceutics has nailed down a $9.2 million Series A round from a pair of biotech venture backers. SV Life Sciences and The Column Group both contributed cash and new board members to help shepherd their investment in the developer, which hopes to build a pipeline of small molecule cancer prodrugs.
Cyterix is focused on targeting extra-hepatic cytochrome P450 enzymes which are over-expressed in many cancers but not in normal tissues. Prof. Steven A. Everett, who had worked at the University of Dundee in Scotland, is a co-founder, along with the late John Curd, the former president of Threshold, and UCSF's Prof. Paul Ortiz de Montellano.
"Continuing in our cash-efficient business model, we expect these funds to advance our two lead compounds through IND-enabling studies, as well as further expand the development of our technology platform and our exploration of new targets within the extra-hepatic cytochrome P450 enzyme family," said Everett. "We are very grateful for the assistance and support that we've received to date from the University of Dundee, the funding body Cancer Research UK, and latterly the University of California at San Francisco - Mission Bay."
- see the Cyterix release