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Ashwin Nandakumar and Ashwin Jainarayanan were working on their doctorates at adjacent section in Oxford , but they did n’t hump each other . Nandakumar , who was studying oncology , one day stumble across a singular dataset for prostate cancer , with which he postulate sequencing help .
“ I reached out to a few acquaintance asking to help me analyze this data , ” Nandakumar said . “ They said , ‘ There ’s another guy with the name Ashwin , you should connect with him . ’ ”
The two Ashwins outright clicked , and soon after their group meeting , they begin work in the research laboratory of Jainarayanan ’s academic adviser , Michael Dustin , a prof of molecular immunology .
When Nandakumar and Jainarayanan were pose ready to graduate , they ab initio contrive to get job with large pharmaceutical companies . But they were also fascinate by Dustin ’s research . “ Mike discovered a whole new feature of speech of the immune system of rules that the great unwashed did n’t have sex exist , ” Nandakumar said .
Nandakumar and Jainarayanan decided to explore the estimation of turning that research into a troupe . They were introduced to Y Combinator ’s bio partner , Surbhi Sarna , and she convinced the two Ashwins to use to the storied accelerator .
“ That conversation change our lives , ” Nandakumar read . “ We decided we ’re not join Big Pharma . We ’re going to make our own Big Pharma . ”
Nandakumar , Jainarayanan and Dustin formedGranza Bio , a biotech startup work on a novel approach to fork out immunotherapy and other “ flak particles ” to various parts of the trunk . The two Ashwins enter the YC Winter 24 mint .
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Granza ’s feeler draw a quite a little of interest from investors . “ Our plan initially was to raise $ 2.5 million to get very of the essence experimentation done , ” Nandakumar enounce . “ We started fund raise on [ a ] Wednesday and hit that target on a Friday . ”
Since investors were lining up to invest in Granza , the two Ashwins make up one’s mind to raise a full-grown round that would allow them to expand the biotech ’s enquiry beyond the initial experimentation stage .
On Wednesday , Granza Bio announced that it has raise a $ 7.14 million semen round led by Felicis andRefactor , with participation from Y Combinator .
Granza Bio fit dead into Felicis ’ dissertation : that the body ’s own immune organization could be activated to treat cancers and other autoimmune diseases , Tobi Coker , deal married person at Felicis , told TechCrunch . “ The research out of Professor Dustin ’s science lab is completely fresh , ” Coker order , adding that Granza ’s glide slope to the delivery of therapeutics across organ systems could have large-minded software in oncology and autoimmune disease intervention .
While Felicis is well known as a firm that madeearly bets on technical school companieslike Notion , Canva , Adyen , Cruise , Flexport and Shopify , the 18 - class - previous venture outfit is n’t a stranger to the biotech investment world . About 10 % to 15 % of the firm ’s upper-case letter is put in biology - focus startups , Coker tell . Felicis ’ most notable life science ship’s company let in now - publicly traded Ginkgo Bioworks and Recursion Pharmaceuticals .
“ I think we have a good eye for new technological paradigms and possible weapons platform companies , ” Coker say . ( In biotech , political platform companies focus on create underlying tools that could be used to produce numerous therapy . )
Felicis and other investor in Granza Bio are gain a wager that the startup ’s therapeutic cargo deliverance mechanism can eventually avail originate a whole host of young drug .
