San Francisco-based Cyterix Pharmaceuticals said today it has raised $9.2 million in a Series A financing from The Column Group and SV Life Sciences. The company, founded in April 2010, is developing drugs that are selectively activated by enzymes known as cytochrome P450s outside the liver—which are thought to reside in tumors, but not healthy tissues. The technology has its roots in the lab of Steven Everett, a researcher at the University of Dundee in Scotland, who is now the CEO of Cyterix. “Cyterix has created a novel proprietary approach aimed at tackling one of the holy grails of cancer drug development—the ability to specifically and selectively deliver drugs into tumor cells,” said Rick Klausner, managing partner at The Column Group, in a statement.
