Date: Jun 27, 2015 Source: bizjournals (
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Confluence Life Sciences, a startup developing drugs to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases, has raised $2.4 million from a group of investors that includes BioGenerator, Mercury Fund, Epidarex Capital, Missouri Technology Corporation, the St. Louis Arch Angels and others.
The money will be used to support clinical studies.
Confluence Life Sciences is a pharmaceutical development startup that is developing several drug candidates using kinase inhibitors, which target key enzymes involved in the regulation of cancer growth and chronic inflammation, according to the company's website.
The company in early 2014 closed on a $5.5 million Series A round led by Epidarex Capital.
Confluence, which has more than 30 employees, was founded by Joseph Monahan, the former director of Pfizer's inflammation research unit. The company was the first tenant in the 5,400-square-foot BioGenerator incubator in the Cortex innovation district.
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To date, according to CrunchBase, the company has raised nearly $8 million.
To date, BioGenerator has invested $800,000 in Confluence, making the startup the largest total investment in BioGenerator's portfolio.
"Confluence is led by top drug hunters and former senior staff from Pfizer's immunology team, and they're working with world-class research and medical advisors at Washington University and other institutions," said Charlie Bolten, vice president of BioGenerator and board member for the company, in a statement. "They've built a high-caliber team and have made great progress in applying the KINect Technology platform to create valuable new drug candidates for oncology, immunotherapy, and chronic inflammation."
Confluence has a number of advisors, including Robert Schreiber, a professor of pathology and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine; Harold Hoffman, a professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of California, San Diego; Andrey Shaw, the head of the division of immunobiology at Washington University School of Medicine; David Linehand, chief hepatobiliary-pancreatic and GI surgery at Washington University School of Medicine; and Sheila Stewart, associate professor of cell biology and physiology at Washington University School of Medicine.
