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Prosetta Biosciences, Inc. is an 11-year old biotechnology company developing novel small-molecule antiviral therapeutics based on over 25 years of basic research on the Cell-Free Protein Synthesizing Systems (CFPSS) by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Washington, Seattle. The incorporation of the CFPSS in our drug discovery platform, has lead to the identification of small molecules which disrupt or alter the key protein-protein interactions involved with the assembly of viral capsids (the protein shell that protects the DNA or RNA genome of a virus). Prosetta has successfully produced highly potent compounds which display activity against multiple strains of many viral families including lead series of molecules that are effective antiviral agents against Influenza, HIV and HCV.
Swift Biosciences is a biotechnology company that is developing novel molecular biology technologies to better characterize and understand the genome. We are an energetic, highly innovative company focused on creating tools to advance the DNA sequencing sciences. Our products are designed to help customers analyze challenging samples that are often associated with translational work, including circulating, cell-free DNA and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is a chronic, life-threatening disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In the United States, 30,000 new cases are estimated every year with half of those cases diagnosed in young children. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the patient`s immune system goes awry and attacks and destroys the pancreatic beta cells. Beta cells are responsible for regulating blood sugar (glucose) levels by producing precise amounts of the essential hormone insulin. The discovery of injectable insulin in the 1920s changed T1D from a uniformly fatal disease with a life expectancy of months to one that could be carefully managed for decades through multiple daily blood glucose measurements and insulin injections. However, insulin injections are not a cure and patients face a lifetime of difficult disease management and serious complications including kidney failure, blindness and nerve damage. Despite nearly a century passing since the discovery of insulin, insulin injection remains the only treatment available to patients. Semma Therapeutics was founded to develop transformative therapies for patients who currently depend on insulin injections. Recent work in the laboratory of Professor Douglas Melton led to the discovery of a method to generate billions of functional, insulin-producing beta cells in the laboratory. These cells develop in islet-like clusters grown from stem cells. Initial preclinical work in animal models of diabetes has shown that transplantation of these cells are sufficient to control blood glucose levels. This breakthrough technology has been exclusively licensed to Semma Therapeutics for the development of a cell-based therapy for diabetes. Ongoing research at Semma Therapeutics is focused on combining these proprietary cells with a state-of-the-art cell delivery and immune protection strategy that can protect these cells from the patient`s immune system and allow the beta cells to function as they do in non-diabetic individuals. Implantation of the beta cell-filled device has the potential to provide a true replacement for the missing beta cells in a diabetic patient and would not require patient immunosuppression. Semma Therapeutics is working to bring this new therapeutic option to the clinic and improve the lives of patients with diabetes.
Guardant Health is a leading precision oncology company focused on helping conquer cancer globally through use of its proprietary blood tests, vast data sets and advanced analytics. Its Guardant Health Oncology Platform is designed to leverage its capabilities in technology, clinical development, regulatory and reimbursement to drive commercial adoption, improve patient clinical outcomes and lower healthcare costs. In pursuit of its goal to manage cancer across all stages of the disease, Guardant Health has launched multiple liquid biopsy-based tests, Guardant360 and GuardantOMNI, for advanced stage cancer patients, which fuel its development programs for recurrence and early detection, LUNAR-1 and LUNAR-2, respectively. Since its launch in 2014, Guardant360 has been used by more than 5,000 oncologists, over 40 biopharmaceutical companies and all 27 of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network centers.