Volastra bumps up seed round to $44M, inks Microsoft partnership to tackle cancer metastasis

▤ Summary

Volastra Therapeutics wants to change that by developing drugs that target chromosomal instability, a hallmark of solid tumors that’s linked to metastasis. The proceeds will bankroll Volastra’s work in three approaches to predict and target metastasis as well as build out the technology that underpins them, CEO Charles Hugh-Jones, M.D. It has inked an R&D deal with Dewpoint Therapeutics to discover drugs that target biomolecular condensates to prevent cancer progression and metastasis. The goal is to identify compounds that block the formation of condensates—membraneless organelles whose main job is to surround and contain reactants for chemical reactions—in cancer cells where chronic, pro-inflammatory signaling happens. The financing will allow Volastra to hire more scientists to help it understand the biology and immunology involved in chromosomal instability, and then to identify new targets.

$ Funding

▦ Linked Companies

Microsoft

$1B+