Accipiter Biosciences has emerged from stealth mode with $12.7 million in seed financing to advance its computational platform for designing de novo protein therapeutics. The Seattle-based biotechnology company announced the funding round co-led by Takeda and Flying Fish Partners, with participation from Columbus Venture Partners, Cercano Capital, Washington Research Foundation, Alexandria Investments, Pack Ventures and Argonautic Ventures.
The company's approach represents a departure from traditional protein engineering by creating entirely new proteins built from scratch rather than modifying existing natural proteins. Accipiter Bio's computational platform pairs with high-throughput experimentation to design custom, multifunctional biologics that combine multiple mechanisms in a single, stable molecule.
Novel Approach to Complex Disease Treatment
"Some of the most challenging diseases of our time are complex in nature and require combination therapies that target multiple pathways," said Matthew Bick, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Accipiter Bio. "However, drug combinations, in particular biologic combinations, have a number of pitfalls. They often carry high development costs, are time-consuming and expensive to evaluate in clinical trials and can increase the risk of side effects."
The company's biologics differ from conventional antibodies and multispecifics, which primarily block cellular pathways. Accipiter Bio's proteins include agonists that precisely and specifically activate multiple pathways on the same cell simultaneously to leverage biological synergy. The platform enables rapid iteration and accelerated therapeutic development, with in silico design-to-lab timelines of under two months.
Strategic Industry Partnerships
Accipiter Bio has secured strategic collaborations with two major pharmaceutical companies. The company entered into a research collaboration and license agreement with Pfizer to discover and design biologics for multiple targets. Under this agreement, Accipiter Bio received an upfront payment and has the potential to earn milestones of more than $330 million plus royalties.
"Accipiter's platform technology for de novo protein design has the potential to unlock new classes of biologics," said Jeffrey Settleman, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Pfizer Oncology R&D. "With Accipiter's platform technology and collaboration, Pfizer aims to solve complex therapeutic problems with biologics that may have previously been unattainable."
The company has also established a multitarget agreement with Kite Pharma, a Gilead Company, to generate molecules against targets of interest for use in cell therapies. Kite will have the option to acquire selected molecules for worldwide therapeutic development, with Accipiter eligible to receive performance-based milestone payments and royalties.
Experienced Leadership and Development Pipeline
The company's co-founders bring extensive expertise in de novo protein design, with prior experience from Seagen, Merck, Neoleukin Therapeutics and the University of Washington's Institute for Protein Design. Notably, they were integral to the team that advanced the first fully de novo protein therapeutic into clinical trials.
The leadership team includes Matthew Bick, PhD as co-founder and CEO, Javier Castellanos, PhD as co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Hector Rincon, PhD as co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, and William Canestaro, PhD as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer.
AI-Driven Drug Design Innovation
"We've reached the point where computation isn't just speeding up biology, it's expanding what's biologically possible," said Heather Gorham, Principal at Flying Fish Partners and Accipiter board member. "Accipiter Bio is building multifunctional biologics that act through multiple mechanisms, enabling therapeutic effects that conventional protein engineering can't achieve."
Proceeds from the seed financing will be used to build Accipiter Bio's pipeline in immunology and oncology, further enhance the company's computational platform and advance up to two programs to pre-IND status. The company's approach aims to replace drug combinations by delivering more effective, convenient and precise treatments for patients with complex diseases.
