Magnolia Neurosciences Corp., a startup developing a drug with the mission of making neurons harder to kill, launched with a $31 million series A financing backed by a roster heavy with corporate and regional venture funds. Though headquartered in New York, where it will be managed by Accelerator Life Science Partners, Magnolia is expected to develop medicines based primarily on discoveries made by researchers in Houston-based MD Anderson's Therapeutics Discovery division, a unit that has already sparked the formation of at least two new cancer-focused companies, Navire Pharma Inc. and Vescor LLC.