• 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).

• Yodo1

  Participated · Series B · Dec 2013

  Yodo1 is a Beijing-based publisher and platform provider for mobile game developers, founded in 2011 by CEO Henry Fong. It offers a publishing platform to help developers gain traction and monetize in China and worldwide, and provides Kryptanium, an in-game community SDK to sustain growth and engagement. The company has co-developed several hit games featured on Apple’s App Store, Google Play and China’s top Android app stores, including Cavemania, Cut the Rope: Time Travel, Powder Monkeys, Ski Safari and Clouds & Sheep. Yodo1 has a presence in Beijing, San Francisco, Shanghai and Seoul. The company will use the new funds to strengthen its core business and support strategic expansion into Japan and Korea. As of this round, Yodo1 has raised $18M since its founding. Yodo1 is a market-entry specialist and full-service publishing platform focused on bringing Western smartphone games to the Chinese iOS/Android market. Founded in 2011 and led by CEO Henry Fong, the company is based in Beijing and maintains offices in San Francisco. Yodo1 partners with Western developers such as Robot Entertainment, XMG Studio, Defiant Development and HandyGames to adapt and publish their titles for China. The company raised $5m in a Series A funding round led by SingTel Innov8, with participation from original investor Chang You Fund. Yodo1 intends to use the capital to continue to grow. Yodo1 provides a suite of services to help Western game developers enter China, including language translation, distribution through official stores, integration with local monetization gateways and ad networks, and cultural adaptation of game content. The company addresses market-specific challenges such as fragmented app stores, local payment methods, analytics, and piracy by preparing and distributing localized versions. A concrete example is its work on Robot Entertainment’s Hero Academy, for which Yodo1 added new culturally relevant characters and integrated Chinese social features like Sina Weibo. Yodo1 was founded in 2011 and is based in Beijing. The team is led by CEO Henry Fong, who has prior leadership experience at Microsoft and Brocade and founded a Hong Kong–listed venture fund and a pan-Asia market entry consulting firm; Andy Lee of Kabam recently joined as an advisor. The company recently closed a seed funding round to support its expansion of services and partnerships in China.

No current team members are available.