Agenovir Completes $10.6 Million Series A Financing

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Agenovir Corporation, a company using computationally engineered nuclease technology to develop novel antiviral therapeutics, today announced that it raised $10.6 million in a Series A financing. The round was led by Data Collective with participation from Celgene Corporation, Lightspeed Venture Partners and several prominent individual and other investors.

"With this financing led by top tier venture, corporate and individual investors, we expect to build an exceptional leadership team and accelerate our research and development programs to treat diseases associated or caused by latent or persistent viral reservoirs," said Bruce Hironaka, founding CEO and Director of Agenovir.

Agenovir was founded based on technology developed in the laboratory of Stephen Quake, D.Phil., professor of Bioengineering and Applied Physics, Stanford University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The company is using CRISPR/Cas9 and other nucleases designed, engineered, and simulated in silico at massive scale to disrupt intracellular viral DNA. By interfering at the level of DNA, it may be possible to treat and eliminate persistent viral reservoirs for which there are no current treatments. As a proof of concept, the company has generated data for several viruses that demonstrate infection-specific cell death following delivery of nucleases to human cells.

"Agenovir is at the cutting edge of scientific research, leading the industry in developing a new and innovative approach to treat persistent viral diseases that we believe will fundamentally change the therapeutic paradigm," said Matt Ocko, co-Managing Partner of Data Collective and a member of the board of directors at Agenovir. "We at DCVC look forward to partnering with the company as they augment their infrastructure, continue to build up their considerable intellectual property portfolio, and most importantly, advance key therapeutic candidates into clinical development to truly make a difference in the lives of patients."

ABOUT AGENOVIR

Agenovir is a leader in the research and development of a novel class of human therapeutics to address diseases associated with or caused by latent or persistent viral reservoirs. The individuals affected by these diseases number in the millions, and treatment options are extremely limited or non-existent. Using its deep virology expertise and targeted genome editing technologies, Agenovir's mission is to develop innovative treatments that disrupt or eliminate pathogenic viral genomes, bringing hope to patients who suffer from devastating, persistent viral infection.

ABOUT DATA COLLECTIVE

Data Collective and its principals have backed brilliant people changing global-scale industries for over twenty years, helping create tens of billions of dollars of wealth for these entrepreneurs while also making the world a markedly better place. 

DCVC brings to bear a unique model that unites a team of experienced venture capitalists with more than 50 technology executives and experts (CTOs, CIOs, Chief Scientists, Principal Engineers, Professors at Stanford and Berkeley) with significant tenures at top 100 technology companies and research institutions worldwide. DCVC focuses on seed, Series A, and growth stage companies that apply deep compute, big data and IT infrastructure technologies to transform giant industries. Learn more at www.dcvc.com and follow us on Twitter at @dcvc. 

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SOURCE Agenovir Corporation