PhoreMost, a UK-based biopharmaceutical company, has secured an additional $12M in Series B financing, bringing the total to over $50M. Parkwalk Advisors led the financing round, with contributions from existing investors such as BGF, Dr Jonathan Milner, Amadeus Capital, and Astellas Venture Management. This new capital will enable PhoreMost to further develop its pipeline of novel degrader assets targeting oncology and inflammatory diseases, advancing cancer treatments towards preclinical development.
PhoreMost’s CEO, Dr Neil Torbett, expressed excitement about this pivotal moment in the company’s growth, “PhoreMost is at an incredibly exciting phase of development, where we are now progressing our high value oncology and inflammation degrader programmes towards preclinical studies. We are very grateful to have secured additional support from our existing investors, positioning PhoreMost to progress differentiated degrader assets across high-value therapeutic areas and cementing our business as a leader within the next-generation degrader field. I would also like to thank the PhoreMost team and all our partner organisations for helping us to achieve such excellent progress toward realising our important mission.”
The company is also focused on expanding the recently launched GlueSEEKER™ platform, a novel tool designed to discover molecular glues that target previously undruggable proteins.
Novel degrader programs advancing cancer treatments
PhoreMost has been at the forefront of drug discovery, using its SITESEEKER platform to identify and target proteins that were previously considered undruggable. The company has already made significant progress in developing proof-of-concept studies for next-generation degrader programs, particularly in the fields of oncology and inflammatory diseases. These programs are designed to target disease-causing proteins and guide them toward degradation, offering potential breakthroughs for conditions with limited treatment options.
GlueSEEKER platform and industry collaborations
PhoreMost’s recently launched GlueSEEKER platform represents an exciting expansion of its capabilities. GlueSEEKER is a phenotypic screening tool designed to discover molecular glue degraders (MGDs), a new class of small molecules that facilitate the degradation of target proteins by stabilising protein-protein interactions. This approach holds tremendous potential for tackling undruggable disease targets across a range of therapeutic areas, including oncology and neurodegeneration.
The platform is seen as a game-changer in drug discovery, as it builds upon PhoreMost’s existing SITESEEKER platform, which is already well-established in identifying novel therapeutic targets. By integrating computational techniques with phenotypic screening, GlueSEEKER™ can systematically identify ligase-neosubstrate pairs, offering new avenues for therapeutic development.
Alastair Kilgour, Founder of Parkwalk Advisors and Non-Executive Director at PhoreMost, praised the company’s progress in targeted protein degradation, an area of drug development expected to have transformative effects on patient care, “The PhoreMost team has made excellent progress in developing novel therapeutic approaches within the field of targeted protein degradation, a modality that is set to deliver transformational outcomes for patients suffering with untreated conditions and revolutionise the future of medicine. We are excited to continue supporting both the leadership and scientific teams as they scale and improve the lives of millions.”
PhoreMost’s growing list of pharma collaborations is also expected to benefit from the expanded capabilities provided by GlueSEEKER, further positioning the company as a leader in the development of targeted protein degradation therapies.
Looking ahead
The recent financing is part of PhoreMost’s ongoing mission to “drug the undruggable,” a core focus since its foundation. With this new round of funding, the company aims to cement its leadership in the next-generation degrader space, developing assets that can address high-value therapeutic areas, particularly in oncology and inflammatory diseases. PhoreMost is also advancing its internal programs, including the allosteric PLK1 program for brain cancer, which is expected to enter the clinic in the coming years.
As the company continues to build out its degrader pipeline and expand the GlueSEEKER platform, it remains poised to deliver significant advancements in drug discovery, offering hope for new treatment options for patients with currently untreatable conditions.
