• Kallyope

  Participated · Series D · Feb 2022

  Kallyope is a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging its proprietary Klarity™ therapeutic platform to discover and develop oral small-molecule therapeutics. Its programs focus on metabolism (including diabetes and obesity), gastrointestinal disease, and neurological disorders. Under a four-year, $8.2 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Kallyope will apply its gut-focused screening and validation capabilities to identify and characterize metabolites for interventions targeting environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) in undernourished pregnant and lactating women and mothers. The work will be conducted in collaboration with other institutions affiliated with the foundation. Kallyope will retain rights to develop compounds derived from the identified agents as possible therapeutics and as supplements in low-resource nations and other global regions. The effort is explicitly aimed at improving maternal, newborn, and child health in epicenters of the global food and nutrition crisis where EED contributes to stunting and poor infant outcomes. Kallyope has built a drug‑discovery platform that integrates sequencing, bioinformatics, neural imaging, cellular and molecular biology, and human genetics to reveal gut‑brain biology. The company focuses on targeting gut and gut‑brain physiology with gut‑restricted molecules to increase the speed and probability of success in drug discovery. Its pipeline spans metabolism, immunology and inflammation, and central nervous system disorders. Over the past 13 months Kallyope advanced four compounds into the clinic across its two lead programs in Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and diseases of the gastrointestinal barrier. The company reports more than 20 programs and molecules in its broader pipeline. Headquartered at the Alexandria Center for Life Science in New York City, Kallyope was founded six years ago and has raised nearly $480 million to date. Kallyope is a biotechnology company dedicated to unlocking the therapeutic potential of the gut-brain axis. Led by CEO Nancy Thornberry and founded by Charles Zuker, Tom Maniatis, and Richard Axel, the company integrates sequencing, bioinformatics, neural imaging, cellular and molecular biology, and human genetics to understand gut-brain biology. Headquartered at the Alexandria Center for Life Science in New York City, Kallyope is advancing a broad portfolio of programs across gastrointestinal, CNS, and inflammatory disorders. Its lead program targets satiety circuits for weight loss, with clinical testing expected to begin later this year. A second program targeting gut barrier function with potential relevance for inflammatory bowel disease is anticipated to enter the clinic soon after. The company raised $112M in a Series C to advance its portfolio of programs and its first clinical trials. Kallyope is a New York City–based biotechnology company focused on identifying therapeutic opportunities involving the gut–brain axis. The company has developed a platform that enables a systematic approach to targeting gut–brain circuits with small molecules and has initiated multiple programs spanning metabolic, central nervous system, and gastrointestinal disorders. In addition to its internal small-molecule programs, Kallyope recently initiated a collaboration with Novo Nordisk focused on discovery of peptide therapeutics for obesity and diabetes. Kallyope raised a $21M expansion of its previously announced Series B, bringing the Series B total to $87M and total capital raised since inception to $131M. The company says it will use the additional funds to further advance its portfolio of programs targeting the gut–brain axis. Kallyope is headquartered at the Alexandria Center for Life Science in New York City and is led by CEO Nancy Thornberry; it was co-founded by Charles Zuker, Tom Maniatis and Richard Axel. Kallyope integrates sequencing, bioinformatics, neural imaging, cellular and molecular biology, and human genetics to discover therapeutic opportunities involving the gut–brain axis. The company is led by CEO Nancy Thornberry and was co-founded by Charles Zuker, Tom Maniatis and Richard Axel. Initially Kallyope will focus on metabolic and neurological disorders with plans to expand into other disease areas involving the gut and gut–brain biology. The firm describes itself as a cross-disciplinary platform biotechnology company aiming to translate biological insights into transformational therapeutics. The company will use new funding to expand operations and scale its team. It expected to grow to nearly 60 employees by the end of 2018.

• Eikon Therapeutics

  Participated · Series B · Jan 2022

  Eikon Therapeutics integrates advanced engineering, single-molecule tracking and high-performance computing to visualize protein movement in living cells and accelerate drug discovery. Its clinical portfolio is anchored by EIK1001, a systemically administered TLR7/8 co-agonist now in Phase III for advanced melanoma, alongside EIK1003 (a PARP1 inhibitor in Phase 1) and EIK1004 (a CNS-penetrant PARP1-selective inhibitor poised to enter Phase 1 for brain cancers). The company is also advancing earlier-stage candidates, including two androgen receptor antagonists and an internally derived WRN inhibitor (EIK1005) for MSI-high and other DNA repair–deficient cancers. Clinical studies are operating in 28 countries across five continents, and Eikon says it is expanding R&D and building a fully integrated, 21st-century biotechnology company. Financially, Eikon announced the initial closing of a $350.7 million Series D and has privately raised in excess of $1.1 billion since its 2019 founding. Eikon operates facilities in California, New Jersey, and New York. Eikon Therapeutics integrates engineering and science to discover and advance drug candidates using its proprietary AI-powered Single Molecule Tracking (SMT) technology. The company’s internally developed programs focus on preclinical candidates in oncology, immunology, and neurologic disease. Eikon has expanded its pipeline by acquiring global rights to clinical-stage TLR7/8 agonists, licensing PARP1-selective inhibitors, and acquiring preclinical assets addressing protein homeostasis, DNA damage repair, and chromatin remodeling. Its clinical team has deep experience in advancing programs through regulatory review, and Eikon intends to use its SMT instruments to inform clinical-trial design and program decisions. Financially, Eikon completed a first close of a Series C equity financing that added nearly $106 million and has raised nearly $775 million in total capital since its founding in late 2019. Eikon Therapeutics builds a drug-discovery platform centered on super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, single-particle tracking and the quantitative data those microscopes generate. The company is focused on industrializing that platform to run high-throughput, live-cell drug screens and to reveal new biology and drug targets. Eikon is pursuing four unnamed target programs and has one undisclosed partner. Leadership and scale-up are priorities: the company plans to grow its roughly 100-person team (with an aim to double headcount) and has made multiple senior hires while operating under the oversight of Roger Perlmutter. Management says the platform is already running drug screens around the clock and generating high volumes of quantitative protein-dynamics data. Financially, Eikon has raised a large Series B and has accumulated over $668 million in total disclosed financing. Eikon Therapeutics has developed a live-cell super-resolution microscopy platform that measures the real-time movement of individual proteins in living cells to inform drug discovery. The platform evolved from Nobel Prize–winning work in super-resolution microscopy by Eric Betzig and collaborators and was industrialized by founders Betzig, Xavier Darzacq, Luke Lavis, and Robert Tjian. Eikon combines physics, engineering, chemistry, biology, automation, machine learning, and high-performance computing to apply protein-dynamics measurements across the drug discovery process. The company aims to translate these biological insights into differentiated therapeutics for unmet medical needs. Eikon is based in Hayward, Calif., and recently closed a $148 million Series A financing. The company also announced the appointment of Roger M. Perlmutter as its Chief Executive Officer and maintains a multidisciplinary scientific advisory board and leadership team to advance its platform.

• Circle Pharma

  Participated · Series C · Jun 2021

  Circle Pharma advances the discovery and development of intrinsically cell-permeable macrocycles designed for multiple routes of administration, including oral delivery. Its MXMO platform combines structure-based rational drug design and advanced synthetic chemistry to create macrocycle therapies for challenging targets. The company is developing CID-078, described as its first-and-only-in-class cyclin A/B RxL inhibitor, and is focused on cyclins as key drivers in many cancers. With a recently closed financing, Circle Pharma plans to fund CID-078's clinical development and continue progressing its portfolio of discovery programs built on the MXMO platform. The company aims to address unmet clinical needs in cancer and other serious diseases. Circle Pharma is based in South San Francisco, California. Circle Pharma deploys a structure-based rational design and synthetic-chemistry platform to design intrinsically cell-permeable macrocycles that can address intra- and extra-cellular targets and be delivered by multiple routes, including orally. The company is initially focusing on intracellular protein–protein interactions that drive cancer, with lead programs aimed at cyclin proteins such as cyclin A and cyclin E. Its cyclin-targeted programs are being developed for Rb-dysregulated cancers (including small cell lung cancer) and cyclin E–dependent malignancies like ovarian and uterine cancer. Circle intends to advance its wholly owned cyclin programs toward the clinic. The platform will also be applied to other precision oncology targets that are considered undruggable with small molecules. The company is based in South San Francisco, Calif. Circle Pharma is a macrocycle drug discovery and development company focused on intractable cancer targets. Its technology facilitates the rational design and synthesis of intrinsically cell-permeable macrocycles that can address both intra- and extracellular therapeutic targets and can be delivered by oral administration. The platform is applicable across a wide range of serious diseases, and the company is initially focusing on intracellular protein-protein interactions that are key drivers in cancer. Its lead program targets cyclins A and E, which are part of the regulatory machinery that controls cell growth and division; inhibiting cyclins A and E has been shown to be synthetically lethal in cancers with Rb pathway dysregulation. With the new financing, Circle plans to expand its team, drive its cyclin-targeted programs toward the clinic, and apply its macrocycle platform to additional intractable targets. The company raised $45 million in a Series B to fund advancement of its cyclin inhibitor programs and to expand the pipeline. Circle Pharma is developing a macrocycle drug discovery platform that uses rational design and synthetic chemistry to create intrinsically cell-permeable macrocycles for intra- and extracellular targets, with the aim of oral delivery. The company is initially focused on intracellular protein-protein interactions that drive oncogenic pathways and other serious diseases. Circle is expanding its therapeutic pipeline to add targets including MCL1 and the substrate-binding site of cyclinA/cdk2. Its chemistry process development has achieved key steps toward a more highly automated synthesis platform. With support from Pfizer, Circle is building a physical library of macrocycles predicted to have optimized permeability and will begin synthesis shortly to deliver the library to Pfizer and potentially other collaborators later this year. The company was founded by Prof. Matthew P. Jacobson and Prof. R. Scott Lokey and will use the Series A funds to support platform development and its therapeutic pipeline. Circle Pharma develops intrinsically cell‑permeable macrocyclic peptides using a rational computational design platform combined with synthetic chemistry. The company is focused on intracellular protein‑protein interactions that drive oncogenic pathways and aims to deliver macrocycles that can be orally administered. With seed funding, Circle established its computational design capabilities, advanced synthetic chemistry in collaboration with ChemPartner, and entered a target‑based collaboration with Pfizer. The firm is building a physical library of cell‑permeable macrocycles to augment its computational tools and to provide to collaboration partners. Series A proceeds are intended to support Circle’s therapeutic pipeline and these development efforts. Founders include Prof. Matthew P. Jacobson (UCSF) and Prof. R. Scott Lokey (UC Santa Cruz).

• Janux Therapeutics

  Participated · Series B · Apr 2021

  Janux is a preclinical biotech developing next‑generation bispecific T cell engagers that remain inert in circulation and activate at the tumor site via its proprietary TRACTr (Tumor Activated T Cell Engager) technology. In mouse studies the company reported anti‑tumor activity comparable to conventional T cell engagers with reduced cytokine release, and in monkey studies dosing sustained drug levels for longer than two weeks versus hours for standard T cell engagers. Janux has disclosed initial targets for its own programs—PSMA, EGFR, and TROP2—and aims for once‑a‑week dosing. The company has an exclusive research pact with Merck, under which Janux could earn up to $500.5M in upfront and milestone payments for each of two targets Merck selects, plus royalties; Merck will fund the partner’s R&D. Janux is preclinical and says the new capital will enable it to bring immunotherapies into clinical testing and to support development of additional drug candidates. The company declined to answer questions about its technology or plans beyond prepared statements from CEO David Campbell. Janux Therapeutics is developing tumor-activated T cell engager immunotherapies using its proprietary TRACTr technology. TRACTr integrates tumor-specific activation with crossover pharmacokinetics to address dose-limiting toxicities, poor pharmacokinetic profiles, and systemic immune activation seen with prior T cell engagers; in preclinical studies Janux candidates demonstrated comparable anti-tumor efficacy without associated cytokine release or healthy tissue toxicities. The company employs a modular design to rapidly engineer candidates and is advancing a preclinical pipeline that includes TROP2-TRACTr and PSMA-TRACTr. Janux targets multiple solid tumor indications including colorectal, gastroesophageal, prostrate, NSCLC, triple negative breast, and ovarian cancers. The financing will be used to advance the preclinical pipeline and support the company’s plan to bring its first candidate into the clinic in the first half of next year. Janux was founded in the Avalon Ventures accelerator, COI Pharmaceuticals, in San Diego.

• A2 Biotherapeutics

  Participated · Series B · Oct 2020

  A2 Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage, fully integrated discovery, development and manufacturing company based in Agoura Hills, Calif., founded in 2018. The company develops first-in-class logic-gated cell therapies using its Tmod™ platform, which combines an activator and a blocker receptor to target tumors while protecting normal tissues. A2 Bio is conducting two seamless phase 1/2 studies—EVEREST-1 (A2B530 targeting CEA) and EVEREST-2 (A2B694 targeting mesothelin)—with patient enrollment via the BASECAMP-1 AI-enabled prescreening study. The company plans to advance three clinical development programs and additional preclinical programs built on the Tmod™ platform. Management cited initial clinical data from lead programs as validation of the logic-gate approach. A recent $80 million Series C will fund ongoing clinical development and pipeline advancement. A2 Biotherapeutics develops Tmod-engineered T cells, a next-generation cell-therapy platform that pairs a potent activating mechanism with a blocking mechanism to selectively kill tumor cells that have lost specific genes while sparing normal cells. The company published proof-of-concept work in Molecular Immunology describing the Tmod dual-targeting system and its ability to recognize and selectively kill tumor cells that lost defined target molecules. A2 plans to advance three near-term product candidates built on the Tmod platform, with the first slated to begin clinical testing in 2022, and to extend the platform to produce additional candidates. Proceeds from its recent financing will also support the clinical development and operation of A2’s completed in-house cell-therapy manufacturing facility. The company was established in 2018, is based in Agoura Hills, California, and has more than 40 staff. A2 has raised $136M since inception and employs former Amgen and Kite Pharma developers on its team to advance discovery, development and manufacturing. A2 Biotherapeutics develops cell therapies that aim to selectively kill tumor cells while sparing normal tissue by leveraging rare antibody and T-cell receptor binders. The company combines a target binder discovery and optimization platform with proprietary cell engineering, modular vector designs, and novel quantitative assays to extend cell therapies into solid tumors. Its platform addresses two target classes: peptide‑MHC targets (to access intracellular neo‑antigens) and targets lost via loss of heterozygosity using modular cell engineering. A component of the platform, HuTARG™, is licensed from collaborator and co‑founder Innovative Targeting Solutions. The company was founded in 2018 and operates a fully integrated discovery, development, and manufacturing organization in Agoura Hills, California with a team of more than 40 staff. A2 Biotherapeutics expects its first clinical candidate next year and plans to launch an autologous cell manufacturing facility in 2020 with technology scalable for commercial launch.

No current team members are available.