Strong week for VC deals includes Moonwalk launch, cross-border play OnCusp
Plus: Psychedelic play MAPS rebrands as Lykos, HI-Bio raises a series B, and more cash goes to China-based biotechs
As is typical in the early days of January, a host of biotechs announced financings as the industry prepares for the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Epigenetics company Moonwalk launched with a series A round, while several companies headquartered in China or with presences in that country also garnered rounds.
Moonwalk Biosciences Inc. intends to create precision epigenetic editing therapies, building in part on artificial intelligence-derived insights and the work of gene editing pioneer Feng Zhang, a co-founder. The start-up emerged from stealth this week with a total of $57 million in seed and series A cash; its co-founder and CEO is former Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) SVP, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Research and Product Development Alex Aravanis. Lead investor Alpha Wave joined Arch Venture Partners, Future Ventures, GV, Khosla Ventures and YK Bioventures in the fundings...