Asher Bio launches with $55 million in funding

Asher Bio has launched with $55 million in series A funding led by Third Rock Ventures. The company’s cis-targeting technology aims to overcome common problems in immunotherapy: toxicity and the activation of unwanted cells. The molecules the company is developing have two points of contact on a target immune cell. One ensures that the right kind of cell is being engaged, and the other stimulates that cell to grow and divide. The firm’s lead candidate stimulates cancer-killing T cells through the interaction of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and the IL-2 receptor on the T cell.