David Pyott and Joe Kiani were part of a $13M Series A funding round for Bioniz Therapeutics Inc. in Irvine and both joined its board, with Pyott being named chairman.
Pyott is the former chief executive of Allergan Inc., now Allergan Plc, and Kiani is chief executive of Irvine-based patient monitor maker Masimo Corp.
Pyott co-led the round with the corporate venture arm of Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. Participation in the funding came from Kiani, and Cota Capital and Signatures Capital, both in San Francisco.
Signatures had also provided $600,000 in seed capital to Bioniz in 2013, according to CrunchBase.
Bioniz is developing drugs to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases and said the $13 million in new funding will allow it to further advance its pipeline.
