Amplified Opportunity

Amplimmune Inc. has made the most of an initial $20 million round of financing, as the company has made progress with a pair of preclinical fusion proteins, the more advanced of which was snapped up last week by GlaxoSmithKline plc. (LSE:GSK; NYSE:GSK). With upfront money and expected milestones, the company's runway now should extend into 2012, at which time it hopes both programs will have entered the clinic.

InterWest Partners and Wellcome Trust teamed up to provide Amplimmune with its series A money in 2007 based on the potential seen in a pair of fusion proteins licensed from Johns Hopkins University...