• Talus Bio

  Led · Grant · Aug 2023

  Talus Bioscience developed MARMOT, a proprietary platform that integrates AI, next‑generation proteomics, synthetic chemistry, and computational biology to discover and optimize modulators of transcription factors. MARMOT uses the company’s dataset for transcription factor activity—the article states it is currently the largest in the world—and enables rapid identification of candidates from billions of compounds in live, unmodified human cells. The platform replaces time‑consuming high‑throughput screens and is designed to discover and optimize modulators for any given transcription factor target. Talus is advancing internal therapeutic programs, including Brachyury‑driven cancers and an undruggable transcription factor implicated in prostate cancer, and is sourcing partners to progress dozens of promising candidates discovered to date. The company employs a growing team of more than a dozen experts across proteomics, biochemistry, computational biology, and machine learning. Talus was founded in 2020 and is based in Seattle. Talus Bioscience is building a drug discovery platform to find compounds that affect transcription factors, proteins that interact with DNA to turn genes on and off. The platform is aimed at targeting transcription factors implicated in cancer and other diseases. Recent grant funding is intended to accelerate development of that discovery platform. The company is led by CEO Alex Federation, a biochemist and computational biologist, and CTO Lindsay Pino, who has expertise in biochemistry and machine learning. Talus has pursued both non-dilutive grant funding and venture capital to advance its work. Financially, the startup has raised venture capital and grant awards to support platform development. Talus Bioscience builds a drug-discovery platform (MARMOT) to find compounds that modulate transcription factors and thereby affect gene activity. The platform purifies transcription factors from hundreds of samples in ~20 minutes and pairs the assays with software to read how compounds change the regulome. Talus is in early exploration of partnerships with biopharma while also working on its own drug targets, including transcription factors implicated in childhood cancer and adult solid tumors. The company was founded in 2020 by Alex Federation and Lindsay Pino out of work at the Altius Institute and the University of Washington. Talus has 13 employees and recently hired Michelle Briscoe as COO. Financially, the company reported $2.75M in NIH small business grants plus $7M in venture funding led by NFX (a $9.75M total raise) and previously received a $255,000 NSF grant and $1.5M in pre-seed VC led by Fifty Years.

• KayoThera

  Participated · Series A · Jul 2023

  KayoThera is developing first-in-class, oral small-molecule inhibitors that target the retinoid pathway. The platform originated from biology discovered at Princeton University by Mark Esposito and Yibin Kang. The company is advancing lead programs in diabetes and oncology, including therapies for late-stage and metastatic cancers. KayoThera states the additional resources will support IND-enabling safety studies and position programs for strategic partnering. To date the company has secured $14 million in total financial support, comprised of equity and non-dilutive grant funding. Recent grants include NIH SBIR awards (NIDDK and NCI) and funding from the Andy Hill Cancer Research Endowment (CARE) Fund. KayoThera is an early-stage therapeutics company developing a new class of cancer immunotherapies grounded in research from Princeton University. The company was co-founded in 2019 by Mark Esposito and Yibin Kang and has identified a family of key enzymes targetable with novel small molecule inhibitors. KayoThera is advancing a lead oncology program aimed at treating late-stage and metastatic cancers, including breast, lung, pancreatic, colorectal, brain, and kidney cancers. The firm plans to move its lead program toward the clinic to translate its discoveries into therapies for patients with advanced disease. Leadership includes Dr. Esposito as Vice President of Research and Development and Dr. Kang as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board. Financially, KayoThera received initial backing from Foundation Venture Capital Group and has recently closed a Series A to fund development.

No current team members are available.