Startup Sandbox veterans land seed funding to turn natural macrocycle molecules into effective drugs
19 September 2019
Unnatural Products, a recent graduate of Startup Sandbox, has closed a $6+ million seed financing round led by Artis Ventures. Abstract Ventures, Asset Management Ventures, Better Ventures, Blue Bear Ventures and Rising Tide Fund also participated in the round.
Unnatural's founders, Cameron Pye and Josh Schwochert, who graduated from UC Santa Cruz's Chemistry and Biochemistry Department PhD program, will use the financing to create drugs for the 80% to 90% of problem proteins in the human body that have eluded pharmaceutical makers. The Santa Cruz-based startup is using machine learning to identify natural molecules called macrocycles that disrupt protein interactions and can be transformed into effective medicines for the treatment of cancers, inflammation and other conditions.
For details, see coverage of Unnatural Products' financing in the Wall Street Journal and Globe Newswire.