Good Therapeutics lands $8M to develop protein drugs that work only where needed in the body
- ByStartupStory | December 31, 2021
Seattle-based startup Good Therapeutics has raised $8 million to promote therapeutic proteins designed to work only where they’re needed in the body.
Background: The company’s therapeutic proteins can reverse-convert from an inactive form to an active form only when they bind to their target. By controlling where and when a therapy works, it can act directly on specific cells or tissues and minimize toxicity. Initially the company focused on oncology.
Key Candidates: A major program focuses on IL2, an immune modulator that can calm cancer, but is often toxic when transmitted throughout the body. Pharmaceutical companies have taken various approaches to minimize the toxic effects of IL2 and maximize its benefits. Good Therapeutics is developing an IL2-based agent that works upon binding to tumor-recognizing immune T cells. The therapy binds to a target on these cells, PD1, and then switches to the active state. The company is also developing other “contextual” therapies, specifically for other immunomodulatory molecules.
Closest to Clinic: The company has 22 employees with “attractive” data in mice for its IL2 program, said CEO John Mulligan, and is currently selecting a clinical candidate. Good Therapeutics is in talks with several potential partners to move this and other projects forward.
Human: Mulligan received a PhD in biology from Stanford University and previously worked as a consultant for Microsoft on a DNA sequence data storage system. He also founded Glycostasis, a company that designs a protein to regulate insulin levels, and co-founded Cambrian Genomics, which created a way to laser print DNA. He founded Good Therapeutics in 2016 with startup investments from himself and Codon Capital.
Good Therapeutics recently hired Neela Patel as Sales Manager and promoted Diane Hollenbaugh to Chief Science Officer. Patel was previously the Executive Director of Business Development at Seagen, and Hollenbaugh is the Executive Director of Immunity Ecosystem Discovery at AbbVie.
Backers: The new funding is part of a larger Series B round, Mulligan said. Existing investors are backers of Roche Venture Fund, RiverVest Venture Partners, Digitalis Ventures and 3×5 Partners. The company previously raised $22 million in Series A capital.
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