| Name | Title | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|
Nicole Thai |
Vice President, Information Technology | Profile |
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.
Rubius Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering a new era of cellular medicines. Our proprietary RED PLATFORM™ was designed to genetically engineer and culture Red Cell Therapeutics™ that are selective, potent and ready to-use cellular therapies for the potential treatment of several diseases across multiple therapeutic areas. Our initial focus is to advance RCT™ product candidates for the treatment cancer and autoimmune diseases by leveraging two distinct therapeutic modalities — potent cell-cell interaction and tolerance induction. We are currently enrolling patients in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of RTX-240; the trial has two Phase 1 arms enrolling adult patients with advanced solid tumors: an ongoing monotherapy dose escalation arm in adults with relapsed/refractory or locally advanced solid tumors and a combination therapy dose escalation arm with pembrolizumab in adults with relapsed/refractory or locally advanced solid tumors. In April 2022, the combination arm with pembrolizumab was expanded to focus on non-small cell lung cancer and renal cell carcinoma patients. We are also enrolling patients in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of RTX-224 for the treatment of patients with certain advanced solid tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer, cutaneous melanoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, urothelial (bladder) carcinoma and triple-negative breast cancer.
Founded in 2009, Celmatix is a personalized medicine company focused on fertility and women’s health. Our technology-enabled products empower people, through better data, to dramatically improve their chances of conceiving.
Zucara Therapeutics, a CDRD and MaRS Innovation portfolio company, is developing the first drug therapy to prevent hypoglycemia in people with diabetes. Our first-in-class therapeutic is focused on improving glucagon counterregulation by inhibiting somatostatin which is dysregulated in Type 1 diabetes.
HealthTell is committed to empowering the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics for complex immune-mediated diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases. Based on robust proprietary technology, HealthTell is developing the first and only diagnostic platform capable of assessing an individual`s immune system response to specific diseases. Applicable to a broad range of therapeutic areas, HealthTell is empowering physicians and patients to proactively manage health and make more informed decisions.