Accelerator nurtures new startup |
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Accelerator nurtures new startup
Seattle biotech incubator Accelerator has been busy lately.
A week after taking on a major new investor, it's wrapped up funding of a new startup, GPC-Rx.
The new company is seeking to develop drugs that target cell surface receptors called GPCRs, which are involved in major disease areas including cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer.
Accelerator created GPC-Rx in June with a small amount of seed money. The incubator didn't specify the size of the Series A round it just closed, but those rounds are typically in the $3 million to $5 million range.
GPC-Rx's technology aims to predict the 3-dimensional structure of the cell surface receptors in order to better design drugs that target them. The technology emerged from the lab of Dr. William Goddard of the California Institute of Technology.
It's the second time Accelerator has tapped Goddard. The CalTech scientist co-founded another Accelerator startup, Allozyne, which went on to raise $30 million in outside funding in 2007 and "graduate" from the incubator.
Accelerator sees big potential in the GPC-Rx model.
"A majority of best-selling drugs are targeting GPCRs," said David Schubert, Accelerator's chief business officer. "Technologies that can provide for more accurate prediction of the GPCRs themselves will likely lead to drugs that are more efficacious and have fewer side effects."
Schubert said big sellers like stomach ulcer drug Zantac, seasonal allergy drug Clarinex, and bipolar and schizophrenia drug Zyprexa are GPCR-targeting.
"This is tens of billions of dollars in this category," he said.
Last week Accelerator announced it had taken on a new investor -- PPD, one of the world's largest contract research organizations. PPD conducts clinical trials for drug and medical device firms, and will give Accelerator companies access to high-level clinical expertise.
Accelerator's other investors are Amgen Ventures, Arch Venture Partners, OVP Venture Partners, WRF Capital, and Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. All of them took part in the funding of GPC-Rx.
Accelerator has had hits and misses with its startups, which currently total nine. Several have gone on to raise large outside funding rounds, and a couple have folded. The incubator keeps a startup list on its website.
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