Olema Oncology is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in San Francisco that develops targeted small-molecule therapies for ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer and other women's cancers. Its lead candidate, palazestrant (OP-1250), is an oral complete estrogen receptor antagonist and selective ER degrader now in two Phase 3 trials, while a second program, OP-3136, is a KAT6 inhibitor in Phase 1. Olema's bet is that better-designed oral endocrine therapy can overcome the resistance that limits today's standard of care.
Epirium Bio is a San Diego-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing orally available small molecules that target PGE2 signaling to restore tissue homeostasis, reduce inflammation, and stimulate regeneration. Its lead candidate, MF-300, is a first-in-class oral 15-PGDH enzyme inhibitor advancing toward a Phase 2b trial for sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle strength for which no FDA-approved therapy currently exists.
Totus Medicines is a clinical-stage precision medicines company in Emeryville, California, building covalent small-molecule drugs against historically undruggable targets. Its AI-powered OmniDEL platform screens billions of DNA-encoded covalent candidates against thousands of targets inside living cells, surfacing molecules that older methods miss. Its lead program, TOS-358, is the first and only covalent PI3Ka inhibitor in clinical development, showing class-leading tolerability and strong disease control in breast, endometrial, and head & neck cancers.
Leal Therapeutics is a Worcester, Massachusetts biotech founded in 2021 by repeat CNS entrepreneur Asa Abeliovich, the scientist behind Prevail Therapeutics (acquired by Eli Lilly). Leal builds first-in-class neuro-metabolic medicines on a single idea: many brain diseases share a broken metabolism, and correcting those imbalances can treat conditions from schizophrenia to ALS. Backed by roughly $114M in total funding, its pipeline includes LTX-001, a brain-penetrant oral glutaminase inhibitor in the clinic, and LTX-002, an antisense oligonucleotide for ALS.
Chris Varma, Ph.D., is Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Frontier Medicines, a clinical-stage biotech attacking cancer's 'undruggable' proteins using chemoproteomics, covalent chemistry, and machine learning. A serial biotech founder with 20+ years in life sciences, he previously co-founded Blueprint Medicines (acquired by Sanofi for $9B+ in 2025) and Warp Drive Bio (acquired by Revolution Medicines in 2018), and held investor roles at Third Rock Ventures, Flagship Pioneering, and MPM Capital. His career spans the FDA, Novartis, and three successful company builds - with Frontier Medicines now advancing FMC-376, a first-in-class dual KRAS G12C inhibitor, through Phase 1/2 clinical trials.