Immuno-oncology-focused Akrevia launches

Adding another player to the immuno-oncology arena, Akrevia Therapeutics has launched with $30 million in its first formal round of financing from F-Prime Capital Partners and Atlas Venture. Founded on technology from cancer hospital City of Hope and Thomas Jefferson University, Akrevia is developing antibodies, cytokines, and chemokines that are activated only in the vicinity of the tumor. By rendering potent molecules inactive until they reach the tumor microenvironment, Akrevia hopes to enable the use of signaling proteins that are otherwise limited because of their toxicity.