Trio of cancer start-ups launches

Three cancer-focused firms have launched. Tizona Therapeutics is emerging from stealth mode with more than $70 million to support the development of immunotherapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Tizona expects to put its first drug candidate, an antibody against CCR4, a protein expressed on certain T cells, into human studies in 2017. Separately, Horizon Discovery and Centauri Therapeutics have formed the immuno-oncology firm Avvinity Therapeutics. Horizon will contribute gene-editing, immunology, and drug discovery expertise and invest up to $7.5 million in Avvinity. Lastly, Capella BioScience launched with $15.5 million in funding to develop antibodies against cancer and immunology targets.