858 Therapeutics Raises $60M in Series A Funding
Summary
The round was led by Versant Ventures, with participation from NEA, Cormorant Asset Management and Logos Capital. The company intends to use the funds to enter the clinic with its lead candidates that have potential to treat cancers that are resistant to current therapies and to expand its team to about 40 people within the next 18 months. The company has built a platform to assess the impact of RNA-modifying proteins on disease biology and has generated a pipeline of small molecules against priority targets. 858’s founding team includes CEO Jeffrey Stafford, Ph.D., CSO James Veal, Ph.D., and VP of Biology Gretchen Bain, Ph.D. Jecure developed therapies against innate immunity targets to treat serious inflammatory diseases and was acquired by Genentech in 2018.