University of Arizona Spinout Branch Therapeutics Raises $4M for Colorectal Cancer Drug Development

The seed round propels UA-born Branch Therapeutics toward clinical trials—and signals biotech’s rise in the desert

Branch Therapeutics, co-founded by University of Arizona and University of Dundee scientists, is a preclinical-stage biotech startup developing novel cancer therapeutics . Launched in late 2024, the company focuses on creating orally bioavailable, well-tolerated drugs that can target multiple cancer types. Its lead program is aimed at colorectal cancer: recent studies show that roughly 90% of colorectal tumors have overactive WNT signaling (and one-third also involve PI3K pathways) . In a seed financing round, Branch announced it has secured $4 million from GKCC, LLC to push its lead molecule through safety studies toward a Phase 1 trial .