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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.
Immunocellular Therapeutics Ltd (Fka: Optical Molecular Imaging Inc) is a Woodland Hills, CA-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Mirus Corporation is a Madison, WI-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
BillionToOne is a precision diagnostics company with the mission to make molecular diagnostics more accurate, efficient, and accessible. Our proprietary molecular counting platform can accurately count DNA molecules at the single-count level to help improve disease detection.
Arkuda Therapeutics is a biotechnology company applying insights into lysosomal biology to drive the development of medicines to change the trajectory of neurodegenerative disease. Arkuda`s lead program ARKD-104 aims to correct progranulin deficiency and lysosomal dysfunction in patients with GRN-related frontotemporal dementia (FTD-GRN), a genetically-defined subtype of frontotemporal dementia caused by an autosomal dominant mutation in the progranulin (GRN) gene. The company is further exploring the therapeutic potential of its molecules in other neurodegenerative diseases where genetic links to dysfunction in progranulin biology have been established, including Alzheimer`s Disease and Parkinson`s Disease. Arkuda is backed by leading investors including Atlas Venture, Cormorant Asset Management, Pfizer Ventures, funds managed by Tekla Capital Management LLC, Mission BioCapital, and Eli Lilly and Company.