Accelerator announces Series A financing of Oncofactor

May 24 2011

Accelerator Corporation, a privately held, venture-capital-backed biotechnology investment and development company, announced today the Series A financing of Oncofactor Corporation. This is the twelfth company backed by Accelerator and its first investment based on internal intellectual property developed at Accelerator. Oncofactor is developing cancer therapeutics that disrupt signaling pathways between tumors and the immune system. The investors participating in the Series A investment in Oncofactor include Accelerator syndicate partners: Alexandria Real Estate Equities; Amgen Ventures; ARCH Venture Partners, Inc.; OVP Venture Partners; PPD, Inc.; and WRF Capital.

Sarah Warren, Ph.D., will lead Oncofactor as Director of Discovery & Validation. Dr. Warren was first introduced to Accelerator as an Institute for Systems Biology (ISB)-Accelerator Venture Fellow in 2008. The fellowship provides hands-on training for ISB employees interested in biotechnology and the process of commercializing new technologies. Fellows interact with scientists and investors at Accelerator to help evaluate ground-breaking emerging life sciences opportunities.

While a fellow at Accelerator, Dr. Warren was a graduate student in the University of Washington's Department of Immunology. She completed her thesis work with Dr. Alan Aderem at the ISB, where she investigated early signaling events that control the magnitude of immune response. This work culminated in significant enhancements to Listeria monocytogenes-based vaccines that will have implications for vaccines against cancer and infectious disease. Additionally, Dr. Warren joined the Molecular Medicine Program at the University of Washington, a certificate program designed to train students to integrate basic research with clinical experiences in human disease.

Dr. Warren's scientific training began at Iowa State University, where as a National Merit Scholar she double majored in biochemistry and English. During her time at Iowa State, Dr. Warren participated in summer research programs with the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Mayo Clinic.

"We are pleased to announce our 12^th Accelerator investment and are thrilled to see one of our ISB Accelerator Venture Fellows lead the research effort at a portfolio company," said Carl Weissman, Chairman and CEO of Accelerator. "Sarah has been deeply involved in the Oncofactor effort since its earliest days at Accelerator. Working in close collaboration with Oncofactor's Research Advisory Committee that consists of a group of biotechnology research and drug development veterans, I am confident that Sarah and the Oncofactor team can execute on its ambitious research plan," added Weissman.

"The Oncofactor technology platform represents an opportunity to address cancer from the perspective of the immune system," stated Chad Waite, Managing Director of OVP Venture Partners. "We look forward to supporting this novel approach by a new entrepreneur."