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So—MAT—us is derived from the Latin word `Somata`, the plural form of `Soma`, which are the cells of the body—free of germ cells. We take Somatus to mean “our healthy bodies”.
Alexis Biochemical Corp. is a San Diego, CA-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Kezar co-founder Christopher Kirk, Ph.D. began his work on the unique function of the immunoproteasome at Proteolix in 2005, while working on the compound that would become the successful multiple myeloma drug KYPROLIS™ (carfilzomib). As VP of Research at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, which acquired Proteolix in 2009, Christopher led the efforts to develop the first selective inhibitors of the immunoproteasome and designed multiple studies demonstrating their profound immunomodulatory effects. In parallel with this work, Christopher and Kezar co-founder Jack Taunton, Ph.D. collaborated on several research projects involving protein secretion. This collaboration inspired a belief in the strong synergies between protein degradation and protein secretion, two fertile areas for drug discovery with platform potential. In 2014, Christopher and Kezar co-founder John Fowler began developing the business plan for Kezar, acting on a longstanding desire to work together and build a world-class company. In 2015, John and Christopher raised $23M and negotiated a worldwide, exclusive license agreement with Amgen for the Onyx immunoproteasome inhibitor patent estate. Now underway, John and Christopher are excited to leverage their complementary skill sets to build Kezar into a leader in small molecule drug development.
Immusoft Corporation (immusoft.com) is a pre-clinical gene therapy company based in Seattle, Wash. Its mission is to treat diseases using its breakthrough technology platform called Immune System Programming.
Codagenix Inc. is a clinical stage biotechnology company with vaccine products against influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, dengue virus, and others currently under development. Codagenix uses a computer-based algorithm, called SAVE (Synthetic Attenuated Virus Engineering) to design viral genomes that are identical to the wild type strain at the amino acid level, but make less protein in human cells.