April 12 Quick Takes: Function Oncology launches with $28M

Andreessen Horowitz and Section 32 led a $28 million series A financing in San Diego-based Function Oncology Inc., whose CRISPR-enabled functional genomics platform is designed to help cancer patients with treatment selection and drug developers identify drug targets. Casdin Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments participated in the financing. The company was co-founded in 2019 by CEO Srinath Sampath and CSO Srihari Sampath, both of whom are assistant clinical professors at University of California San Diego, along with CTO Christian Schmedt.

Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:DNLI) said its partner Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) exercised its option to an exclusive license for preclinical program ATV:Aβ to treat Alzheimer’s disease, which uses Denali’s Antibody Transport Vehicle technology to deliver a mAb targeting β-amyloid across the blood-brain barrier. In preclinical studies, Denali said the technology results in up to a 17-fold increase in signal co-localization with amyloid plaques compared to conventional amyloid-targeting mAbs. Denali will receive an undisclosed option exercise payment and is eligible for development and commercial milestones. Under an October 2020 deal, Biogen received two exclusive options to license ATV-enabled preclinical programs, for which Denali would be eligible to receive up to $270 million in option and milestone payments across both programs...