PhoreMost is developing a pipeline of first-in-class targets in oncology and targeted protein degradation.
All assets are wholly owned by PhoreMost unless otherwise indicated.
Developing the next generation of therapies
| Target ID | Discovery | Preclinical | Phase 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Undisclosed Targeted Protein Degradation, E3 ligase (multiple targets) |
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Undisclosed Immuno-oncology, neoantigen generation |
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SITESEEKER® Targeted Protein Degradation / Oncology (multiple Target ID programmes) |
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PLK Oncology, solid tumours 
SITESEEKER® Platform
Our revolutionary SITESEEKER® platform uses massively high-throughput screening of PROTEINi® libraries to perturb disease biology in new and unanticipated ways.
PROTEINi® are genetically-encoded micro-proteins, computationally programmed to optimise bio-activity and maximise the diversity in our proprietary libraries.
We design human cellular assays to model disease biology with high fidelity. Hyper diversity screening with our PROTEINi® libraries in these complex cell systems allows us to identify novel drug targets and unique and unanticipated new drug pockets. Our SITESEEKER® screening and PROTEINi® technology are revolutionary new tools to inform rapid drug design and to systematically rationalise the development of new medicines across diverse disease areas.
Next-Generation Targeted Protein Degradation
Targeted protein degradation is a promising new way to eliminate toxic or disease-associated targets from cells. Using the cell’s own destruction machinery, new medicines are being developed that allow us to overcome many of the traditional hurdles of drug discovery. This powerful new approach has the potential to open up new treatment avenues for a variety of diseases with unmet need.
Cells have evolved elegant and efficient pathways to control protein homeostasis using chains of ubiquitin, a small protein that can tag other proteins for rapid destruction. The tagged proteins are then eliminated from the cell through the proteasome, a cellular machine optimised for degrading unwanted proteins.
Protein complexes called E3 ligases are the crucial mediators of this activity, and they together with E1 and E2 enzymes are able to tag diseased proteins with the ubiquitin signal. Degrader-based drugs (including PROTACs and molecular glues) recruit E3 ligases to specific target proteins, eliminating them from cells in a highly efficient catalytic process.
This form of induced proximity has numerous advantages over traditional inhibitor drugs and is poised to revolutionise the treatment of a wide variety of diseases. Degraders are a key tool in the Drugging the Undruggable® mission as they can be developed to target almost any protein, including those considered for many years to be otherwise “undruggable”. The targets are removed from cells, rather than just inhibited and the activity of the degrader drugs is catalytic, meaning traditional rules of development and stoichiometry are not usually applicable.
Much of the recent success in degrader development has been dependent on a very small number of E3 ligases (CRBN, VHL, KEAP1 etc). At PhoreMost we are discovering the next-generation of targeted protein degradation molecules. Our SITESEEEKER® Degrader Discovery Platform has been deployed to identify completely new E3 ligases with optimised properties. This allows us to find the right ligase for the right protein target and to empower our drug discovery with selectivity, specificity and functional validation for degrader drug development.
This incredible modality holds enormous promise for new therapies. PhoreMost’s platform has the ability to unlock its full potential and capitalise on this crucial new tool in our mission.
Partnering with us
We are always happy to discuss exciting new opportunities to partner with us and are open to different collaboration models which meet a shared ambition. If you would like to understand more about our capabilities and opportunities to collaborate, please get in touch.