CAMBRIDGE - A decade after AVEO Pharmaceuticals was founded, based on the idea that it would be possible to create better cancer drugs if researchers had more effective ways to test them, the company is on the cusp of a major growth spurt. This year, AVEO plans to apply for federal approval of its first drug, for kidney cancer, and it is in the midst of a yearlong hiring spree, set to add 120 new employees in 2012.
