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Actuate Therapeutics, Inc. is a private biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of compounds for use in the treatment of cancer, and inflammatory diseases leading to fibrosis and neurodegeneration.
For thousands of years, people have discovered medicines from fungi by brewery. This approach has led to transformative medicines that saved millions of lives and have altered the course of medical history. Drug discovery by brewery proved to be difficult and time-consuming, leaving the field in search of a disruptive technological solution. Our genomically-enabled drug discovery engine is precisely that solution, dramatically accelerating the search for nature’s breakthrough drugs. At LifeMine, genomicists, bioinformaticians and microbiologists identify new evolutionary solutions for disease intervention; natural products chemists access the natural molecules that inspire our drug discovery efforts; biologist and chemist drug hunters craft these into disruptively innovative medicines, and translational medical scientists bring the life-saving solutions forward into patients in need.
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.
Amisure International is a Cambridge, MA-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Evolve BioSystems is a spin-out from the Foods For Health Institute (FFHI) at the University of California, Davis. The company builds on more than a decade of research into the infant gut microbiome and its unique interaction with breast milk components, established by the founding scientists including Bruce German, David Mills, Carlito Lebrilla, Daniela Barile and Samara Freeman. Their fundamental research and translational clinical trials have been enabled by more than $15 million in federal and private grants since 2004. Under the leadership of CEO Dr. David Kyle, Evolve completed a $1 million seed funding round in mid-2014, a $9 million Series A round in August 2015 and most recently a $20 million Series B capital raise in 2017. Evolve has now successfully completed a milestone proof-of-concept study to demonstrate the efficacy of its initial proprietary offering, with a series of upcoming trials scheduled across both human and animal health applications. With a strong portfolio of intellectual property developed at UC Davis, a world-class management team plus blue-chip investors, and an unwavering dedication to allowing science to direct our product development, Evolve continues to expand it`s pipeline of next generation microbiome-based solutions to establish, restore, and maintain a healthy gut microbiome.