Monday, July 7, 2008

Agios Pharma closes $33M in Series A funding

By Mass High Tech Staff

Cambridge-based Agios Pharmaceuticals says it has secured $33 million in first round financing, for development of cancer metabolism-regulating drugs. The investment was co-led by Third Rock Ventures, Flagship Ventures and ARCH Venture Partners.

The field of cancer metabolism concentrates on cell growth within cancer cells, which rely on more nutrients than normal cells to survive, Agios reports. While the company’s initial plans draw on cell metabolism therapeutics related to cancer, it may also eventually apply to other fields, including diabetes, inflammatory, autoimmune and neurological diseases.

Agios Pharmaceuticals was founded by cell metabolism leaders Lewis C. Cantley, director of the Cancer Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and professor of systems biology at Harvard Medical School; Tak W. Mak, of The Campbell Family Institute for Cancer Research and The University of Toronto; and Craig B. Thompson, director of the Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania.