Participated · Equity · Jun 2018

Skyhawk Therapeutics is a Cambridge, Mass.-based drug development company developing small-molecule therapies that correct RNA mutations via its STAR* platform. The company's STAR* (Small molecule Therapies for Alternative splicing in RNA) platform is designed to discover and develop small molecules that modulate alternative splicing in RNA. It is pursuing indications in neurology, oncology and immunology and expects its first oncology drug to enter the clinic by the end of 2019. Led by co-founder and CEO Bill Haney, Skyhawk focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies using its platform. Recently the company closed a $40M all-common-stock equity round alongside a $60M strategic collaboration, bringing over $100M in new capital to fund development. Skyhawk Therapeutics develops small molecules that correct RNA expression, with an initial focus on therapies that address exon skipping. The company leverages proprietary technology to rationally design small molecules that bind specific pockets on RNA using sequence and structural specificity at defined moments in the splicing process. Its initial programs target a set of 50+ diseases driven by exon skipping, including broad-based neurological conditions and previously “undruggable” oncogenes in cancer. Skyhawk intends to use the seed financing to advance its portfolio of specific and selective small molecules against these targets. The company is based in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founders and founding board members include William Haney (co-founder and executive chairman), Kathleen McCarthy (co-founder and CEO), Kevin Koch, Andrew Boyd and Andrew Bedford.

Participated · Series B · Jan 2018

Aprinoia Therapeutics is a Taipei, Taiwan–based clinical-stage neuroscience biopharmaceutical company led by founder and CEO Ming-Kuei Jang. The company is advancing three diagnostic and two therapeutic product candidates targeting Alzheimer’s disease, non‑AD tauopathies, Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Its most advanced asset is the tau PET imaging tracer 18F‑PM‑PBB3, which showed potential to visualize tau pathologies in Alzheimer’s and progressive supranuclear palsy patients in early 2017 clinical studies. Aprinoia has operations in Taiwan, China and Japan and operates across preclinical and clinical stages. The company focuses on both imaging diagnostics and therapeutic pipelines and plans to use new capital to advance those programs through preclinical and clinical development.

Participated · Series A · Dec 2017

Obsidian Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech company pioneering engineered cell and gene therapies with its proprietary cytoDRiVE technology. Its lead program, OBX-115 (cytoTIL15), is an engineered tumor-derived autologous TIL therapy armored with pharmacologically regulatable membrane-bound IL15 (mbIL15) intended to enhance persistence, antitumor activity, and safety. OBX-115 is being evaluated in two ongoing and enrolling trials in advanced or metastatic melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NCT05470283 and NCT06060613). The company is focused on enrolling patients, achieving key clinical and regulatory milestones, and scaling manufacturing ahead of pivotal trial readiness. Obsidian has collaborations with Bristol Myers Squibb and Vertex Pharmaceuticals and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA. Recently the company completed a significant financing to support clinical development of OBX-115. Obsidian Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing engineered cell and gene therapies using its proprietary cytoDRiVE® technology. cytoDRiVE provides a way to control protein degradation using FDA-approved small molecules, permitting precise control of the timing and level of protein expression. The company has collaborations with Bristol Myers Squibb and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and is led by CEO Paul Wotton. Obsidian recently closed a $115M Series B to advance its programs. Proceeds will be used to drive its lead tumor infiltrating lymphocyte program, cytoTIL15, into the clinic and to first clinical data for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and to expand cytoTIL15 into multiple other solid tumor types. The financing will also support advancement of Obsidian’s commercial manufacturing build. Obsidian Therapeutics has built a platform of destabilizing domains (DDs) that enable pharmacologic regulation of protein activity in cells via a synthetic cassette installed in gene vectors and a readily-available small-molecule drug. The DD system allows fusion proteins to be rapidly degraded in the absence of ligand and stabilized when a non-immunosuppressive, FDA‑approved ligand is administered, enabling tunable control of engineered cells. Obsidian’s initial development programs focus on regulated cytokine cassettes to enhance CAR-T anti-tumor activity and persistence, and regulated CARs to improve safety and efficacy. The company has licensed DD technology from Stanford and launched a research collaboration with Dr. Crystal Mackall to regulate CAR activity in CAR‑T products. Obsidian was founded in 2015 by Atlas Venture, is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has assembled an experienced management team led by newly named CEO Michael Gilman, Ph.D. The company completed a $49.5 million Series A to build its technology platform and advance lead programs toward clinical development.

Participated · Series A · Apr 2017

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).

Participated · Series A · Jun 2016

Morphic Therapeutic develops a new generation of oral integrin therapies using a structure-enabled integrin drug discovery platform. The company draws on integrin biology breakthroughs from the Springer lab and a partnership with computational chemistry firm Schrödinger to design clinical candidates. Morphic reports compelling preclinical data across multiple programs and has yielded several novel oral drug candidates targeting integrins. Its therapeutic focus areas include fibrosis, autoimmune diseases and immuno-oncology. Morphic recently completed an $80 million Series B financing to support clinical advancement. The company is based in Waltham, Mass. Morphic Therapeutic is a biotechnology company developing a new generation of oral integrin therapies. It was created in 2015 to translate discoveries from Timothy A. Springer’s laboratory into therapies for immunological, fibrotic, neoplastic and vascular diseases. Morphic has developed an exclusive platform that includes proprietary reagents, ultra‑high‑resolution integrin crystal structures, and a founding partnership with Schrödinger to support rapid, iterative small‑molecule design. The company’s programs target fibrosis, autoimmune diseases and immuno‑oncology and aim to overcome reasons behind prior failures of oral integrin candidates. Morphic plans to advance multiple programs into the clinic using its platform and partnerships. Leadership includes CEO Praveen Tipirneni and a development team with extensive industry drug‑development experience.