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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.
Bioscience, Inc. is a Bethlehem, PA-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Imago BioSciences is translating true scientific insights into transformative treatments allowing patients to live longer, disease-free lives.
BGI Americas Corporation is a Cambridge, MA-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
SeLux Diagnostics is developing a Next Generation Phenotyping (NGP) platform that promises to transform infectious disease patient treatment by dramatically increasing the speed and accuracy with which targeted, personalized antibiotic therapies can be prescribed. Earlier, better-informed treatment decisions will save lives, improve patient outcomes, decrease hospital lengths of stay and hospital acquired infections, and help combat the global antibiotic resistance epidemic.