Auctus Biologics Secures $1.5M Seed Funding to Advance Oral, Stable RPtag-Based Therapeutics

2018Year9Month25VCBeat (WeChat ID:VCbeat) learned from , an antibody-like scaffold R&D companyAuctus BiologicsCompleted150The company, which focuses on age-related diseases, raised seed funding in the millions of U.S. dollars; details such as the investors have not yet been disclosed.Ichor Therapeutics portfolio companies.

AuctusThe proceeds from this funding round will be used to develop an orally bioavailable, highly stable antibody-like scaffold.RPtag, thisRPtagThe platform will replace traditional antibody-based clinical therapies to improve the treatment experience for numerous patients and reduce treatment costs. Earlier this year, this research was published in the industry peer-reviewed journal “ACS Biochemistry》, while the company is also researching new, high-priority targets for immunosenescence and the gastrointestinal tract.

Antibodies typically exhibit high affinity and bind specifically to their targets, making them the most extensively produced biologics in both clinical applications and research. However, clinical antibodies are often unstable and require cold-chain transportation to maintain their activity until they reach the target site. In biotechnology, antibody molecules are also difficult to integrate into many recombinant systems due to limitations imposed by their large size and complex structure. Converting these large antibody molecules into smaller, stable, and well-defined binding scaffolds can overcome these obstacles.RPtagFrom extremophilesCaldanaerobacter subterraneusribosome-binding protein (RBP), is an orally bioavailable, highly stable epitope-tagged universal protein-binding scaffold.RPtagwithPMAffinity-mediated peptide conjugation under extreme temperatures,PHIt remains stable under the action of proteases, retains the ability to refold after denaturation, and can be widely used in laboratory settings.

Auctus BiologicsCEOKelsey MoodySays: “RPtagThis platform has opened up new frontiers in biopharmaceutical R&D. We have a significant opportunity to leverage this platform to develop oral formulations that can replace traditional intravenous injections. Furthermore, we are excited by the promising applications of this technology in modulating the gut microbiota and exploring potential gut-related targets for other age-associated diseases.

Biotechnology CompanyAuchus BiologicsFounded in2018Year, isIchor Therapeuticsportfolio companies. The company uses a-basedRPtagantibody-like scaffolds to develop new therapies, and is currently developing next-generation biologics to explore targets in extreme anatomical environments, such as the gastrointestinal tract, where antibodies cannot be used.

Ichor Therapeuticsis a vertically integrated research institution focused on aging-related diseases and their progression.Ichor's portfolio companies include small-molecule drug development companies (Antoxerene，Inc.), Enzyme Therapy Research Institute (Lysoclear，Inc.), antibody-like scaffold R&D company (Auctus Biologics，Inc.) and research companies specializing in protein engineering tools (RecombiPure，Inc.）。Ichorand its portfolio companies in the New York suburbsLaFayetteWith offices and research laboratories, the company’s vision is to provide next-generation therapies for age-related diseases.