Ambys Medicines forms to tackle liver diseases

Third Rock Ventures and Takeda Pharmaceutical have put up $60 million to launch Ambys Medicines, a biotech firm that is developing regenerative medicines for liver diseases. Ambys also signed a partnership with Takeda worth another $80 million. Ambys is pursuing three treatment types: gene therapy to revive liver function, cellular therapy to replace damaged liver cells, and small molecules to restore the function of key proteins. The company’s scientific founders includes University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, chemist Martin Burke, who previously founded Revolution Medicines.