chemoproteomics
(2)
Light Horse Therapeutics
Light Horse Therapeutics is a San Diego biotech founded in 2023 that flips traditional drug discovery on its head. Using a proprietary 'function-first' platform that pairs systematic CRISPR-based gene editing with chemical biology, the company first pinpoints which exact regions of a disease-driving protein are functionally critical, then hunts for small molecules that hit those precise sites. Launched out of Versant Ventures' Inception Discovery Engine with a $62M Series A and a Novartis collaboration worth up to $1 billion in milestones, Light Horse is targeting some of oncology's toughest, historically 'undruggable' proteins.
Frontier Medicines
Frontier Medicines is a precision-medicine biotech using chemoproteomics, covalent chemistry, and machine learning to drug proteins long considered 'undruggable.' Its lead candidate, FMC-376, is a first-in-class dual ON/OFF inhibitor of KRAS G12C now in the Phase 1/2 PROSPER trial. Backed by $315M+ in venture funding and a major AbbVie partnership, the company is one of the most-watched names in next-generation targeted cancer therapy.