VC roundup: Synnovation chases familiar targets, Mirae’s new U.S. firm backs Accent

Launched this week with $102 million from a syndicate led by Third Rock Ventures, Synnovation Therapeutics Inc. believes its well-heeled medicinal chemistry team can create small molecules with best-in-class pharmacology against well-studied targets, with the potential to improve on existing standards of care. The start-up is beginning with selective, CNS-penetrant PARP1 inhibitor SNV1521, which is entering its first clinical study; behind it is mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor SNV4818. 

Synnovation is reuniting at least four team members from Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ:INCY). Co-founding CEO Wenqing Yao was Incyte’s EVP and head of discovery chemistry; the group also includes Synnovation co-founding SVP of Drug Discovery Liangxing Wu, SVP and Head of Biology Phillip Liu and SVP and Head of Clinical Development Kevin O’Hayer...