Vulcan Backs Biotech Firm Dendreon With $10 Million

SEATTLE - Seattle-based biotechnology company Dendreon has received a $10 million boost from Vulcan Ventures, the investment group for Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

The money is part of a new round of financing at Dendreon, a privately held company started by Immunex co-founder Christopher Henney.

Other large investors in the most recent financing round include HealthCare Investment, New York Life Insurance, Sanderling Ventures and Kummel Investments. But Dendreon has not disclosed the total amount collected so far.

Dendreon is experimenting with a drug for prostate cancer that uses the body's own immune system to suppress the disease. Midstage tests on men with advanced forms of the disease have shown the drug is safe and seems to stimulate the immune response researchers are looking for.

This latest financing will be used to push the drug through the final stages of product development.