Thursday, July 10, 2008

Pharma powerhouses team up with life sciences vets to launch Enlight

By Mass High Tech Staff

Enlight Biosciences, a Boston life sciences startup, reports it has launched in collaboration with the support of three major pharmaceutical companies to advance technologies for drug discovery and development.

The company said that will direct up to $39 million in funding, and its pharma partners include drug giants Eli Lilly & Co., Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc.

Enlight has initially focused on developing technologies in molecular imaging, biologics and drug delivery, according to the company. It plans to begin programs in other life sciences fields as well.

PureTech Ventures, a Boston venture firm, founded Enlight with academic bigwigs such as Nobel laureate Robert Horvitz, a professor of biology at MIT; Sam Gambhir, a professor of radiology at Stanford University; Rakesh Jain, a professor of tumor biology at Harvard Medical School; Raju Kucherlapati, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Cambridge-based biotech firm Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., according to the startup.

David Steinberg, a senior principal at PureTech, is the founding CEO of Enlight.