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Verano™ Holdings is a national, vertically-integrated operator of licensed cannabis cultivation, manufacturing and retail facilities dedicated to improving lives by providing safe access to effective organic cannabis products that enhance health and wellness and by positively impacting the communities it serves.
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.
Calysta, Inc. (www.calysta.com), Menlo Park, CA, is an innovator in industrial products for food and energy security. Calysta has two business units. Calysta Nutrition is developing and commercializing FeedKind™ protein, a natural, safe, non-GMO sustainable ingredient for fish feed and other applications. FeedKind™ protein is approved for sale in the European Union. Calysta Energy is developing high value industrial and chemical products with cost and performance advantages over current processes.
BioVision is a Edmonton, AB-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Spruce is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel therapies for rare endocrine disorders with significant unmet medical need. Our wholly-owned product candidate, tildacerfont, is a CRF1 receptor antagonist currently in late-stage trials in adult patients with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), with a planned Phase 2 trial in pediatric classic CAH. We aim to advance the treatment paradigm for classic CAH with a well-tolerated, non-steroidal approach designed to offer markedly improved disease control and reduced steroid burden for patients. Tildacerfont may also benefit patients with other disorders characterized by elevated levels of or hyperresponsiveness to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), a hormone involved in the production of cortisol, including a rare form of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).