Irv Weissman's lab spins out another biotech, with help of Forty Seven co-founders, to target new 'don't eat me' signal
At age 24, while in Irv Weissman’s lab, Amira Barkal realized the CD24 protein was another “don’t eat me” signal for cancers. Weissman, the Stanford stem cell pioneer, had already spawned one “don’t eat me” biotech, Forty Seven, aptly named for its CD47-targeting therapies and acquired by Gilead in 2020.
So the MD-PhD student set out to start the next biotech out of Weissman’s cohort, this time to go after CD24 in the hopes of treating cancers like breast and ovarian, as well as solid tumors. Today at 28 years old, Barkal’s startup — Pheast Therapeutics — is emerging with $76 million in Series A funds from Catalio Capital, ARCH Venture Partners, Alexandria Real Estate, Risk and Reward and Stanford’s Presidential Venture Fund.
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