Syntax Bio’s technology platform uses CRISPR to direct stem cells to become a desired cell type in a process that’s more scalable and less expensive than current methods. The startup is raising a Series A round of financing to further demonstrate the potential of its technology.

Octant Bio’s synthetic biology approach to drug discovery is making progress, and the preclinical biotech has raised $80 million in Series B financing to continue the journey. The company added Bristol Myers Squibb as an investor and collaborator in the search for new immunology drugs.

Harvard University spinout GRO Biosciences has technology offering the potential for protein therapies that are safer and more effective than currently available biologic drugs. The startup’s research is now backed by $25 million, a Series A financing round whose investors include the venture arm of Bayer.

Muhammad Ali announced many years ago that he suffered from Parkinson’s disease, but Dr. Bennet Omalu thinks differently, hypothesizing the boxer may have suffered from CTE.