A promising cancer drug based on a discovery by our Kimberly Kelly, PhD, is attracting major interest, based on the venture funding for the company developing it.
The Charlottesville-based biotech Kelly founded, ZielBio, closed a whopping $25.1 million in Series A financing last month. The money will fund development of the drug ZB131, which targets a substance Kelly discovered on the surface of many cancer cells, including ovarian, pancreatic, lung and colorectal cancers. Lab work suggests that the drug can bind to the substance, called plectin, stopping the cancer’s growth and causing the cells to die.
Kelly is a professor of biomedical engineering and holds joint appointments with us, the School of Medicine, and with UVA’s School of Engineering. She also serves as president and chief science officer at ZielBio. Good luck to her and her company.
You can read more over at UVA Today.