Tango Therapeutics Inc. CEO Barbara Weber told BioWorld that Gilead Sciences Inc.’s decision to greatly expand their 2018 deal in oncology – a pact then valued as high as $1.7 billion – was based on brisker than expected progress in the original, five-target effort.

Backers in Tango Therapeutics Inc.’s $60 million series B round represent “a group of really smart crossovers who normally don’t come in quite this early” and “hung in there” during some especially hard times on Wall Street recently, CEO Barbara Weber told BioWorld. “We were about to sign the term sheet the first time the market crashed, which was a little nerve-wracking.”