Gate Bioscience – a biotechnology company creating a new class of medicines called Molecular Gates – recently unveiled the company and its scientific platform. Launched in 2021, Gate is emerging from stealth with a novel scientific platform; a world-class management and advisory team with a significant track record of success; and $60 million in Series A funding led by Versant Ventures and a16z Bio + Health, with participation from ARCH Venture Partners and GV.
Molecular Gates are small molecules that eliminate disease-causing extracellular proteins. And extracellular proteins are drivers of many human diseases, ranging from inflammatory conditions to neurodegenerative disease to several cancers. Gate’s novel approach targets a ubiquitous mechanism in human biology: the way in which these proteins are secreted and emerge from cells.
Human cells make more than 4,000 different extracellular proteins, including secreted and membrane proteins, which as they are produced must cross a membrane to move from inside a cell to the outside. And the vast majority of these proteins make that journey through a single channel in the endoplasmic reticulum called the secretory translocon. This channel is the only gateway for both beneficial and disease-causing proteins to exit the cell and act in the body. Molecular Gates drug this channel to stop disease-causing proteins at their source: inside the cell.
Gate has the ability to selectively block specific proteins from passing through the secretory translocon. And Molecular Gate medicines bind to the secretory translocon and set up a “gate” that recognizes and stops a specific, disease-causing protein from exiting. The other non-targeted proteins are able to move through the secretory translocon normally. With nowhere to go, the blocked protein can be redirected to be degraded instead of secreted.
Gate’s novel approach is fueled by the company’s proprietary Molecular Gate Discovery Platform – which combines a privileged library of Molecular Gates; a suite of bespoke, secretion-focused assays and technologies; and deep insights into the biology and structural biology of the secretory pathway. And this platform enables high-throughput screening of small molecule libraries alongside comprehensive, quantitative profiling of the entire secreted protein universe in order to develop selective therapies.
Gate is led and supported by an experienced team of company builders and drug developers with an extensive track record of creating innovative new medicines in pharma and biotech. And Gate’s leadership team has been at the vanguard of drug development in multiple important modalities, including molecular glues, PROTACs, splice modulators, and covalent inhibitors.
Gate is led by:
— Jordi Mata-Fink, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
— Pat Sharp, Ph.D., Scientific Co-Founder and Vice President of Discovery Science
— Raman Talwar, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
— Brian Cathers, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer
Gate’s Board of Directors includes:
— Tom Daniel, M.D., Chairman of the Board for Gate and former President of Global Research and Early Development at Celgene
— Clare Ozawa, Ph.D., Managing Director at Versant Ventures
— Vineeta Agarwala, M.D., Ph.D., General Partner at a16z Bio + Health
Gate’s management team is also complemented by highly accomplished advisors in the fields of drug development, new chemical modalities, and protein secretion. The key advisors include Scott Biller, Ph.D., Executive Venture Partner at GV (Gate board observer); Jay Parrish, Ph.D., Venture Partner at ARCH Venture Partners (Gate board observer); and James Winkler, Ph.D. (Chief Scientific Advisor), among others. Please visit Gate’s website for additional information on the company’s scientific advisors.
KEY QUOTES:
“More than 1,000 extracellular proteins are implicated in a wide range of diseases, yet all of these conditions have one mechanism in common: the secretion of a disease-causing protein through the secretory translocon. Gate’s chemistry, platform, and expertise are laser-focused on this molecular process. For diseases caused by extracellular proteins, our aim is to restore the harmful proteins to normal levels or even, in the case of some conditions, to eliminate the disease-causing proteins entirely. We are inventing a new class of medicines that can bring hope to patients with devastating diseases that are not treatable, or not well treated, today.”
— Jordi Mata-Fink, Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO of Gate
“Molecular Gates are unique since they harness the power of small molecules, enabling them to be taken orally and to access the whole body, including the brain. By blocking disease-causing proteins at their source rather than tackling them in a complex extracellular environment, Gate’s approach is both straightforward and powerful.”
— Clare Ozawa, Ph.D., Managing Director at Versant Ventures and a Gate board member
“The next generation of small molecule therapeutics is expanding into new and diverse biochemical functions. Molecular Gate medicines have the potential to change how we treat important diseases by adding an entirely new mechanism of action to our arsenal. With its powerful discovery engine, cutting-edge technologies, and leading team, Gate is poised to realize the potential of this new modality.”
— Vineeta Agarwala, M.D., Ph.D., General Partner at a16z Bio + Health and a Gate board member
“I’ve been involved with the advancement of many modalities throughout my career, and I am truly impressed with the broad potential offered by Gate’s approach. Molecular Gates remind me of the early days of molecular glues, where we combined new chemistry, the right technology, and deep mechanistic focus to create a whole new type of medicine. This team and platform are uniquely enabled to unlock this novel therapeutic class.”
— Dr. Daniel
