Think Bioscience Raises $55M Series A to Develop First-in-Class Therapies for "Undruggable" Targets
核心洞察
Boulder-based Think Bioscience (搜索) secured $55 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by Regeneron Ventures (搜索), Innovation Endeavors (搜索), and Janus Henderson Investors (搜索).
The company uses synthetic biology to identify hidden binding pockets on proteins previously considered "undruggable," enabling development of small molecule drugs with unique biochemical activities.
Think Bio's lead program targets Noonan syndrome (搜索), a rare genetic disorder affecting 1 in 2,500 births with no approved therapies addressing the underlying disease biology.
Boulder-based biotechnology company Think Bioscience (搜索) has raised $55 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round to advance its novel approach to targeting historically "undruggable" proteins. The round was led by Regeneron Ventures (搜索), Innovation Endeavors (搜索), and Janus Henderson Investors (搜索), with participation from T.A. Springer, CE-Ventures, MBX Capital, and YK Bioventures, alongside returning investors AV8 Ventures, CU Innovations, and Buff Gold Ventures.
Synthetic Biology Platform Tackles Drug Discovery Challenges
Think Bioscience (搜索) has developed a synthetic biology platform that addresses one of drug discovery's most persistent challenges: most proteins in the human proteome lack obvious binding pockets for drugs. The company uses high-throughput functional surveys to identify hidden footholds on proteins that others miss, enabling the development of small molecules with biochemical activities previously deemed difficult or impossible to achieve.
"Despite recent advances in computational chemistry, drug design remains exceedingly difficult," the company noted in its announcement. Think Bio's platform has been successfully extended to a variety of challenging targets, including transcription factors (搜索), protein phosphatases (搜索), kinases (搜索), proteases (搜索), and GTPases (搜索).
Lead Program Addresses Noonan Syndrome
The company's lead program focuses on Noonan syndrome (搜索), a rare genetic disorder affecting approximately 1 in 2,500 births. Patients with this condition experience severe health complications including life-threatening cardiac and lymphatic issues, short stature, cognitive impairment, and chronic pain. Currently, no approved therapies address the underlying biology of this disease.
"Our lead program has the potential to give a broad set of Noonan patients a better life," said Dr. Jerome Fox, co-founder and CEO of Think Bioscience (搜索). "We are grateful to our investors for supporting our vision to develop life-changing therapies."
The program specifically targets mutants that cause Noonan syndrome (搜索), representing a potential first-in-class therapeutic approach for patients facing significant unmet medical needs.
Investor Confidence in Novel Approach
Investors expressed strong confidence in Think Bioscience (搜索)'s ability to succeed where traditional drug discovery approaches have failed. "This team is succeeding where others have failed. The lead program is the best example, but just one of many that the company is prosecuting. We are enthusiastic to double down," said Nick Olsen, Partner at Innovation Endeavors (搜索).
The funding will fuel Think Bio's efforts to advance its robust internal pipeline of first-in-class programs targeting diseases with high unmet need. The company combines expertise across synthetic biology, protein biophysics, applied enzymology, computational chemistry, and medicinal chemistry to tackle these challenging therapeutic targets.
Expanding Pipeline of First-in-Class Programs
Beyond Noonan syndrome (搜索), Think Bioscience (搜索) is developing a diverse portfolio of programs targeting various "undruggable" proteins. The company's synthetic biology approach has demonstrated versatility across multiple protein classes, suggesting broad applicability for addressing previously intractable drug targets.
The oversubscribed nature of the Series A round reflects growing investor interest in novel approaches to drug discovery, particularly those addressing targets that have historically resisted therapeutic intervention. Think Bio's platform represents a potentially transformative approach to unlocking new therapeutic opportunities for patients with limited treatment options.