US firm developing disease-specific maps to support precision therapeutics secures $78m in Series A
It is looking to advance a pipeline of precision therapeutics based on an integrated disease network mapping platform.
The disease-specific maps are designed to pinpoint novel, druggable targets that can be attacked with a range of treatment modalities.
The financing round was led by SR One, a16z Bio + Health, and Norwest Venture Partners, and also included SV Angel, Liquid 2 Ventures, and Hawktail.
Rezo’s platform is based on technology from the Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) developed by Dr Nevan Krogan, who is director of QBI and a co-founder and CEO of Rezo.
Dr Kevan Shokat is another co-founder; he is a professor at UCSF, and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).
'Untapped opportunity'
Rezo’s sequence to systems to drugs (SSD) platform integrates data from proteomics, genetics, structural biology, and chemical biology approaches using sophisticated computational methods to create comprehensive maps of molecular disease networks. It is said to enable the rapid identification and study of disease-causing protein and genetic interactions, which would be difficult to discover using traditional, often siloed, scientific methods.
“Rezo’s strategy is to lead the convergence of advanced experimental technologies and computational applications to reveal unprecedented insights into disease biology, which can lead to truly novel therapeutics,” said Dr Krogan. “The body is a sophisticated, complicated mosaic of cell and molecular interactions, yet the field has been relying on a ‘two-dimensional’ view to solve disease. By integrating technological advances and leveraging complementary strengths between industry and academia, we believe there is an untapped opportunity to map and target the interactions that go awry in disease.”
The company is initially focusing on oncology, with plans to explore additional therapeutic areas through collaborations and partnerships.
