Light Sciences gets heavier with venture capital. $67 million funding is largest in Washington State so far this year

Snoqualmie-based Light Sciences Oncology Inc., a biotechnology upstart that spun off from its parent company in October with $35 million, raised $32 million more in financing on Tuesday that it will use to start clinical trials for some of the deadliest cancers in the world.

The combined $67 million venture capital round is the largest in the state so far this year, surpassing the $44 million that Seattle medical device maker Calypso Medical raised in June. It is also more than Xcyte Therapies and Seattle Genetics raised in initial public offerings in recent years.

Light Sciences Oncology will use the money to initiate Phase III clinical trials for brain cancer and colorectal cancer that spreads to the liver. It already has a Phase III trial in Asia for the liver cancer known as hepatocellular carcinoma — a deadly disease that kills about 1 million people each year.

By JOHN COOK
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

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