Formation Bio raises $600 million for drug-development fund

Axios reports Formation Bio raised a $600 million “drug development accelerator” fund to buy molecules and drug programs it will help develop. The biotech startup will act as the fund’s general partner, with limited partners mostly drawn from university endowments, foundations and hospitals. CEO Ben Liu believes Formation’s use of AI and centralized clinical research can cut spending by 30% to 50%. Early successes are slated for sale to major drugmakers.