Massachusetts $1B Life Sciences Plan Pumps $3.4M in Loans into Startups
Summary
The loans are meant to help startups do early research to show that their experimental products have a shot at working—and the state hopes they’ll also make venture capitalists and other institutional investors more willing to pump in their own capital.In all but one case, these startups are receiving $500,000 loans that are due to be paid over five years with an annual interest rate of 10 percent, agency spokesman Angus McQuilken tells me.The company’s initial target is myeloid cell leukemia-1, a key member of the Bcl-2 family of proteins, which are thought to be involved in resistance to conventional forms of cancer treatment.The firm has identified an early lead compound that selectively inhibits the activity of myeloid cell leukemia and is effective in a lab mouse with B-cell lymphoma.The firm’s technology (which Xconomy covered last year) is intended to treat traumatic spinal cord injury by utilizing biomaterials with combinations of drugs and cells.
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