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Gyroscope Therapeutics is a clinical-stage gene therapy company developing gene therapy beyond rare disease to treat diseases of the eye that cause vision loss and blindness. The company was acquired by Novartis, a leading global medicines company, in February 2022.
Founded in 2019, Totus Medicines uses revolutionary chemical biology to create life-changing therapies to treat previously untreatable diseases across the entire human genome. Totus is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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.
Synlogic is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing medicines through its proprietary approach to synthetic biology. Synlogic`s pipeline includes its lead program in phenylketonuria (PKU), which has demonstrated proof of concept with plans to start a pivotal, Phase 3 study in the second half of 2022, and additional novel drug candidates designed to treat homocystinuria (HCU) and enteric hyperoxaluria. The rapid advancement of these potential biotherapeutics, called Synthetic Biotics, has been enabled by Synlogic`s proprietary, reproducible, target-specific drug design. Synlogic uses programmable, precision genetic engineering of well-characterized probiotics to exert localized activity for therapeutic benefit, with a focus on metabolic and immunologic diseases. Synlogic is also working with Roche in a research collaboration focused on the discovery of a novel Synthetic Biotic for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and with Ginkgo Bioworks to include additional undisclosed preclinical assets, combining Synlogic`s approach to Synthetic Biotics with Ginkgo`s Codebase and Foundry services.
Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine , a Canadian not-for-profit organization funded by the Government of Canada`s Networks of Centres of Excellence program, the Province of Ontario, and leading academic and industry partners, supports the development of regenerative medicines and associated enabling technologies, with a specific focus on cell and gene therapy. CCRM aims to accelerate the translation of scientific discovery into marketable products for patients with specialized teams funding, and infrastructure. CCRM sources and evaluates intellectual property from around the globe, offers various consulting services, conducts development projects with partners, and establishes new companies built around strategic bundles of intellectual property. CCRM is the commercialization partner of the Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the University of Toronto`s Medicine by Design. CCRM is hosted by the University of Toronto and was launched in Toronto`s Discovery District on June 14, 2011.