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WHPM Biotech is a Irwindale, CA-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Chiasma improves the lives of patients by transforming injectable drugs into oral medications. The company`s proprietary, clinically validated Transient Permeability Enhancer (TPE®) technology enables intestinal absorption of molecules that previously had limited intestinal bioavailability. Chiasma focuses on peptide drugs, which serve a large market that is currently served only by injectables. Oral formulations offer numerous advantages, including consistent dosing and the elimination of administration site reactions. Chiasma’s lead investigational candidate, octreotide capsules, is being developed for the treatment of acromegaly.
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.
Personalized regenerative medicines at scale.
ViaCyte is a privately held regenerative medicine company developing novel cell replacement therapies as potential long-term diabetes treatments to achieve glucose control targets and reduce the risk of hypoglycemia and diabetes-related complications. ViaCyte`s product candidates are based on directed differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into PEC-01 pancreatic islet progenitor cells, which are then implanted in durable and retrievable cell delivery devices. ViaCyte demonstrated that when effectively engrafted, PEC-01 cells can mature into glucose-responsive insulin producing cells in patients with type 1 diabetes. To accelerate and expand its efforts, ViaCyte has established collaborative partnerships with leading companies including CRISPR Therapeutics and W.L. Gore & Associates.