Accelerator, a privately held, venture capital-backed biotechnology investment and development company, has backed the formation of biotherapeutics company Xori (chore-ee).
Accelerator, a privately held, venture capital-backed biotechnology investment and development company, has backed the formation of biotherapeutics company Xori (chore-ee).
This is the tenth company backed by Accelerator and the second Accelerator-backed start-up founded from intellectual property developed at the University of Washington.
The company will focus on a unique technology for the rapid discovery and development of monoclonal antibodies. Xori will validate the technology on a variety of targets and develop products for cancer therapy, immune disorders, and infectious diseases.
The investors participating in the series A investment in Xori includes Accelerator syndicate partners: Alexandria Real Estate Equities; Amgen Ventures; Arch Venture Partners; OVP Venture Partners; PPD; and WRF Capital.
Xori was founded by Dr. Nancy Maizels, a professor in the immunology and biochemistry departments and also director of the molecular medicine programme at the University of Washington. Dr. Maizels’ laboratory has developed a proprietary technology for the rapid evolution of monoclonal antibodies. This new technology enables the evolution and selection of high affinity antibodies specific for virtually any target.
Dr. Larry Tjoelker, formerly at ICOS, MacroGenics and Spaltudaq, will join Xori as senior director of research. He was at ICOS for 11 years as scientist and senior scientist. Dr. Tjoelker has focused on discovery of cancer targets for monoclonal antibody therapy as scientific director at MacroGenics for four years and at Spaltudaq for the past year.
Chad Waite, managing director at OVP Venture Partners and member of the Accelerator investor syndicate, says: ‘Monoclonal antibodies are the fastest-growing segment of biotherapeutics, and XORI technology is poised to revolutionize the speed and diversity of antibody discovery.’
