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DuPont Pioneer headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, is the world’s leading developer and supplier of advanced plant genetics, providing high-quality seeds to farmers in more than 90 countries. DuPont Pioneer provides agronomic support and services to help increase farmer productivity and profitability and strives to develop sustainable agricultural systems for people everywhere. Science with Service Delivering Success.
ChemDiv Inc. (Chemical Diversity) is a global chemistry-driven contract research organization focused on identifying and delivering discovery opportunities and services for life science partners, and merging industrial and academic efforts to bring new
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.
Orphan Star Therapeutics, LLC, a biopharmaceutical company, develops therapies for rare genetic diseases including Canavan disease, glut1 deficiency, and rare genetic skin diseases.
Octant is a well-backed team of experienced scientists and entrepreneurs exploring new frontiers of biology. We are applying next-generation DNA sequencing, gene synthesis, and gene editing to revolutionize drug discovery in a quest for safer, more effective, and cheaper drugs.