protein-protein-interactions
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Magnet Biomedicine wants to give difficult proteins a useful introduction
Some proteins resist a drug’s advances. Magnet Biomedicine is recruiting a second protein to help - a molecular matchmaking strategy that has attracted $50 million in venture funding and an oncology agreement with Lilly.
Rezo Is Betting the Best Drug Targets Hide Between Proteins
Drug discovery usually isolates a culprit. Rezo maps the whole criminal network - then asks which handshake can be broken with a small molecule.
Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals
Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals is a Baltimore-based, clinical-stage drug discovery company spun out of Johns Hopkins University. Its RapaGlue platform designs non-degrading, cell-permeable macrocyclic molecular glues that modulate hard-to-drug intracellular and transmembrane targets - drawing on a proprietary DNA-encoded library of more than 8 billion compounds and machine learning for target selection. The lead program, RAP-0001, is a selective ENT1 inhibitor advancing toward IND-enabling studies for the prevention of acute kidney injury in cardiac surgery patients, with a broader pipeline spanning oncology, immunology, and pain.
Circle Pharma, Inc.
Circle Pharma is a South San Francisco biotechnology company building intrinsically cell-permeable, orally available macrocycle therapeutics to hit cancer targets long considered undruggable. Spun out of UCSF and UC Santa Cruz in 2012, it pairs structure-based design, AI/ML, physics-based simulation, and advanced synthetic chemistry in its proprietary MXMO platform. Its lead program, CID-078, is a first-in-class oral cyclin A/B RxL inhibitor now in a Phase 1 trial for advanced solid tumors. The company has raised more than $200 million in total funding, including a $90 million Series D in 2024.