Myco Pharmaceuticals Inc., formed in 1992 to develop novelpharmaceuticals from fungi, announced Tuesday that it hasraised $6 million in its first round of private financing.

The Cambridge, Mass., company recently closed on $4 million ofthat total, and will add another $2 million by the end of theyear. Bessemer Venture Partners and Technology LeadersManagement Inc. are the founding investors.

"The funds will allow the company to accelerate itspharmaceutical discovery and development programs based onnovel fungi-derived compounds and on advances in mycologyand fungal genetics," said Barry Berkowitz, Myco's presidentand chief executive officer.

Myco's initial business strategy is to develop anti-fungal andanti-infective drugs. It plans to accomplish this by identifyinglead therapeutic compounds from fungal sources using systemsit calls "smart screens."

Using recombinant techniques, company scientists areengineering test organisms containing selected molecular drugtargets derived from fungi that should provide rapid andsensitive assays for identifying promising lead compounds.

Smart screens include cellular-based assays, in which thescientists "clone a target into the cell," Berkowitz said. Becausethey can infer that "anything that hits the target gets into thecell," such an approach already addresses questions of drugdelivery. As well, "you can clone targets into cells that don'tnormally contain them," he said. "If you get a hit, then youknow it's selective."

A major fungal candidate is the yeast Saccharomyces, which"has become a major tool of molecular biologists," Berkowitzexplained. The yeast is easily handled with standard microbialtechniques, and has proven a valuable cloning vehicle --including being the source of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine,for one.

"An incredible amount of molecular biology has been done withthis organism, but it certainly hasn't bottomed out," Berkowitzsaid. "Fungi are a phenomenally rich and proven source ofdrugs," including cyclosporin, cephalosporin, cholesterol-lowering drugs and penicillin, but "we've just touched the tip ofthe iceberg in terms of exploiting them as a fertile source ofanti-fungal drugs."

Berkowitz explained that Myco intends to use its smart screensfirst to identify potential anti-fungal drugs, then to look foranti-infectives. The company plans to develop and marketsome resulting products itself, and will explore others throughstrategic alliances or licensing arrangements.

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.