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Montesino Associates is a Sparta, NJ-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. is a growing biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for people living with kidney disease.
Quad Five Materials Bio, Inc. is a Ryegate, MT-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Linnaeus Therapeutics is a development stage biotech company engaged in the identification and development of small molecule agents for the treatment of cancer. Linnaeus is a Penn Center for Innovation UPstart company that was founded in 2016. Linnaeus is based upon discoveries from the Ridky lab at the University of Pennsylvania.
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.