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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.
Aura Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing virus-like drug conjugates (VDC), a novel class of therapies, for the treatment of multiple oncology indications. At Aura, our mission is to deliver meaningful therapeutic benefit to a range of cancer indications with high unmet need in which we believe we can establish a new standard of care. We are driven by our passion and commitment to science and the patients battling cancer who are relying on us to pioneer these new therapies. We are focusing the initial development of our VDC technology platform to treat tumors of high unmet need in ocular and urologic oncology. Belzupacap sarotalocan (bel-sar), our first VDC candidate, is being developed for the first-line treatment of early-stage choroidal melanoma, a rare disease with no drugs approved. Beyond early-stage choroidal melanoma, we are developing bel-sar in additional ocular oncology indications, including choroidal metastasis. Leveraging our VDCs` broad tumor targeting capabilities, we have also initiated a clinical program in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, or NMIBC, our first non-ocular solid tumor indication.
Boston Immune Technologies & Therapeutics based Inc
Allied Safety Associates is a West Columbia, SC-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
MicroBiotix is a Worcester, MA-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.