Biotech startup VLST gets $55 million

VLST Corp., a tiny Seattle biotechnology company that was formed by two former Amgen researchers, has scored $55 million in venture capital that it will use to develop experimental treatments for diseases such as lupus, psoriasis and multiple sclerosis.

The financing — the 16th-biggest venture capital deal in the country this year and the largest in Washington state — is a major boost for a 12-person startup that is still years away from selling its first product.

Typically, early-stage biotechnology companies like VLST don’t raise rounds of this size. But Chief Executive Martin Simonetti, a former Dendreon executive who joined VLST in January, said the money will allow the company to focus on cutting-edge science rather than fundraising.

By JOHN COOK
P-I REPORTER

Full Story: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/venture/274158_vc16.html