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Kitven, Accel invest in Bangalore based Mitra Biotech
By siliconindia
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Bangalore: Mitra Biotech, a Bangalore-based biology research firm has raised an undisclosed amount of VC funding from Accel Partners and Karnataka Information Technology Venture Capital Fund (Kitven), reports Subrahmanyan Viswanath from the Deccan Herald.
Although the financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, Deccan Herald reported that the investment could be of about 
5 crore. A R Jayakumar, CEO, Kitven Fund, said that Kitven Fund 2 invested 2.5 crore into Mitra Biotech, along with the participation of the Accel Partners, who invested of about 2.5 crore. "Mitra is our first investment in the field of Biotechnology and life sciences. If successful, Mitra's approach promises to be a major breakthrough for treatment of cancer patients in India in particular, and across the world in general," said Mr. Jayakumar, CEO of KITVEN.
A spin-off from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Mitra Biotech's co-founders include - Dr Mallik Sundaram who is also the CEO is an alumnus of Wharton Business School, MIT, University of Utah, while the two other founders include Prof. Charles L. Cooney of MIT and Dr. Shiladitya Sengupta, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Cooney also serves on the board of two leading biotech firms, Biocon and Gnezyme. Mitra Biotech is focused on personalised treatment of cancer, and currently has 10 people in its team.
"We are pleased to receive equity financing from both global VCs like Accel, and Indian VCs like Kitven. The funding will help us focus more on cancer research and drug development," Sundaram said. Mitra will apply its analytical characterization models and preclinical Human Tumor Platform (HTP) along with clinical inputs from Mazumdar-Shaw Cancer Centre (MSCC) at Narayana Hrudaylaya Multi-Specialty Hospital to develop patient specific signatures for personalized treatment of cancer. Mitra will also further investigate to develop ways to prevent and cure cancer in collaboration with MSCC.
Mahendran Balachandran, Partner, Accel India, said, "Mitra has ground breaking technology that has the potential to change the way cancer is treated worldwide. We are excited to partner with them to help bring this technology to market in India."
5 crore. A R Jayakumar, CEO, Kitven Fund, said that Kitven Fund 2 invested 2.5 crore into Mitra Biotech, along with the participation of the Accel Partners, who invested of about 2.5 crore. "Mitra is our first investment in the field of Biotechnology and life sciences. If successful, Mitra's approach promises to be a major breakthrough for treatment of cancer patients in India in particular, and across the world in general," said Mr. Jayakumar, CEO of KITVEN.
A spin-off from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Mitra Biotech's co-founders include - Dr Mallik Sundaram who is also the CEO is an alumnus of Wharton Business School, MIT, University of Utah, while the two other founders include Prof. Charles L. Cooney of MIT and Dr. Shiladitya Sengupta, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Cooney also serves on the board of two leading biotech firms, Biocon and Gnezyme. Mitra Biotech is focused on personalised treatment of cancer, and currently has 10 people in its team.
"We are pleased to receive equity financing from both global VCs like Accel, and Indian VCs like Kitven. The funding will help us focus more on cancer research and drug development," Sundaram said. Mitra will apply its analytical characterization models and preclinical Human Tumor Platform (HTP) along with clinical inputs from Mazumdar-Shaw Cancer Centre (MSCC) at Narayana Hrudaylaya Multi-Specialty Hospital to develop patient specific signatures for personalized treatment of cancer. Mitra will also further investigate to develop ways to prevent and cure cancer in collaboration with MSCC.
Mahendran Balachandran, Partner, Accel India, said, "Mitra has ground breaking technology that has the potential to change the way cancer is treated worldwide. We are excited to partner with them to help bring this technology to market in India."