The company announced its decision Tuesday in a
series of posts on Twitter. In what Quench Bio called a “successful failure,” the company said its drug target proved undruggable to its efforts.
Quench was developing an approach to inhibit Gasdermin D, which was believed to be a key target at the core of multiple inflammatory cell death pathways, including pyroptosis and NETosis. When pyroptosis or NETosis pathways are activated, gasdermin is processed and forms lytic pores on the cell membrane, allowing release of inflammatory cytokines, alarmins, DNA and NETs. Pyroptosis and NETosis are associated with numerous inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), as well as other diseases.
(GH01/ iStock)
Quench Bio’s short journey has come to an end after the biotech startup found that its target was simply undruggable.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech had focused on blocking the gasdermin D protein with oral inhibitors to treat inflammatory diseases and had attempted to seek out a potent, selective chemical series to progress by the first quarter of 2021.
It has not, however, managed to hit that goal, and, with credit to the company, it is not trying to spin out this failure, but says it now simply recommends “to wind down and return capital to investors.” It raised $50 million last year from the likes of RA Capital, AbbVie Ventures, Atlas Venture and Arix Bioscience, and was a 2020 Fierce 15 winner.
The J.P. Morgan 39th Annual Healthcare Conference, which traditionally attracts drug company executives and investors to San Francisco, kicked off its annual event on Monday virtually because of the pandemic.
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