Belharra Therapeutics

Of the ~5,000 proteins involved in human disease, only about 600 have been successfully targeted with small molecule therapeutics. That leaves a vast proportion of the proteome unexplored and a big catalog of targets on drug developers’ wish lists.

Belharra Therapeutics emerged from stealth with a $50 million Series A financing from founding investor Versant Ventures. As a next-generation chemoproteomics company, Belharra’s platform is able to target any binding site, on any protein, in any cell type. undrugged proteome.

Belharra was incorporated in March 2021 and hired Jeff Jonker as CEO and Gary O’Neill as chief scientific officer. The company was incubated at Inception Therapeutics while operating in stealth mode.

Belharra co-founder and researcher at The Scripps Research Institute, Dr. Chris Parker, published his foundational research in Cell. This research was foundational to the development of Belharra’s proprietary chemoproteomics platform and its ability to target the undrugged proteome.

New small molecules are created by binding a drug to a target protein. But not all proteins have easily identifiable binding pockets. Belharra’s proprietary chemoproteomics platform is able to illuminate binding pockets on elusive, high-value drug targets across the proteome.

Belharra Therapeutics announced a multiyear collaboration with Genentech to use Belharra’s platform to discover and develop small-molecule medicines in areas including oncology, autoimmune, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Launched by Versant Ventures’ Inception Discovery Engine, the chemoproteomics company can target binding sites on proteins in any cell type. It emerged from stealth with a $50 million Series A and an $80 million upfront, multi-year collaboration with Genentech.

Sanofi to go after ‘undruggable’ targets in $700M immunology deal with Belharra

The video reports identifying more than 4,000 drug-like pocket probes for the undrugged proteome.

The company says it has no open positions currently.

The company has created a drug discovery platform and says its team is key to realizing the platform’s potential and developing therapeutics for patients.

Benjamin F. Cravatt is the Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology and a professor at Scripps Research. His group develops chemical proteomic technologies for protein and drug discovery, and he is a co-founder of Belharra Therapeutics.

Benjamin F. Cravatt is the Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology and a professor at The Scripps Research Institute. His group develops chemical proteomic technologies for protein and drug discovery, and he is a co-founder of Belharra Therapeutics.

Dr. Parker is a professor at Scripps Research whose lab uses chemoproteomic platforms to develop small molecules and study disease mechanisms, including those related to cancer and immune conditions.

John Teijaro, Ph.D. serves on the Faculty of Scripps Research where he heads up The Teijaro Lab. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology.

Belharra uses a photoaffinity-based chemoproteomic platform to target binding sites on proteins in different cell types.

Belharra launched in January 2023 from an idea developed at The Scripps Research Institute and was incubated and supported by Versant Ventures. The company says its approach has been validated through partnerships with two biotech companies.

3985 Sorrento Valley Boulevard, Suite C San Diego, CA 92121

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