Nimbus: Navigating waterworld

Nimbus Discovery LLC is based on an Atlas Venture model that uses a virtual approach to drug discovery and puts each target program into a separate subsidiary, thus making the assets easier to sell early in the development process. The biotech and VC hope the result will be more efficient use of capital and reduced time to liquidity.

The approach mirrors that taken by the VC's Atlas Venture Development Corp., which is looking to develop clinical candidates and then sell or partner them without the traditional trappings that go with company formation (see BioCentury, Feb. 28)...