Why Icos is seeding a start up

While most talk these days is of consolidation, companies still can find reasons to seed new startups. Icos Corp. has just finalized a first round of financing for Hedral Therapeutics Inc., a Portland, Ore.-based company developing anti-viral agents.

Hedral's technology targets the cellular processes of the host rather than the virus. By focusing on the molecular details of host-pathogen interactions, the company hopes to develop products against which viruses won't be able to develop resistance...