HemaQuest books $12M Series B to advance mid-stage programs

Seattle-based HemaQuest has snared a $12 million Series B to continue its pursuit of two new drugs for orphan diseases. New investor Aberdare Ventures led the second investment round for the start-up biotech, with De Novo Ventures, Forward Ventures and Lilly Ventures joining in. HemaQuest is led by Ronald Berenson, a veteran investigator who went on to found Xcyte Therapies. Xcyte foundered badly in 2005 after the FDA raised some serious concerns about a clinical trial design. The developer...