UCSF Spin-Off Scores Venture Financing

Calithera, a spin-off from the University of California, San Francisco, has raised $40 million in its first round of financing. The biotech firm was formed to commercialize caspase activation technology developed in the lab of Jim Wells, chair of the pharmaceutical chemistry department in UCSF’s School of Pharmacy. Wells has found several small molecules that convert caspases from an inactive form into enzymes that destroy cancer cells. Morgenthaler Ventures led the financing round. Mission Bay Capital, U.S. Venture Partners, Advanced Technology Ventures, and Delphi Ventures all participated.