Talus Bioscience, a biotech company based in Seattle, recently secured $11.2 million in venture capital funding to support its drug discovery program for hard-to-treat diseases. Co-founded by Alex Federation and Lindsay Pino in 2020, Talus focuses on developing drugs that target gene-regulating proteins, which are often considered difficult to work with. The team’s platform, MARMOT, allows researchers to analyze how drugs interact with small proteins that control gene expression within living cells, offering insights into disease mechanisms, particularly in cancer where abnormal gene expression is common.
The initial idea for Talus came about when Pino, a graduate student at the University of Washington, and Federation, a postdoctoral fellow at the Altius Institute for Biomedical Sciences in Seattle, joined forces to tackle the challenge of developing drugs for previously deemed “undruggable” targets. They received an initial small business grant from the National Science Foundation, which was followed by multiple rounds of venture capital funding, totaling $7.3 million in grants and an additional $19.7 million from venture capital firms to date. The startup now has 17 employees and continues to expand its drug discovery efforts and proprietary platform with the newly acquired funds.
MARMOT, Talus’ proprietary platform, addresses key challenges in studying gene regulator proteins by enabling researchers to analyze proteins within live cells without the need for their isolation. By using machine learning tools to focus on relevant proteins, MARMOT allows for the identification of transcription factors, which play a crucial role in gene expression and can be dysregulated in diseases. Talus aims to develop drugs that target these transcription factors to modulate gene expression, with current programs focusing on transcription factors linked to rare bone cancers and prostate cancer.
The $11.2 million investment will support Talus’ ongoing programs, including the Brachyruy program targeting a transcription factor associated with a rare bone cancer near the spine, and another program focused on a transcription factor linked to prostate cancer. The funding was led by Two Bear Capital, with participation from WRF Capital, NFX, YC Continuity Fund, Funders Club VC, and BoxOne Ventures. Federation and Pino drew inspiration from other founder-led companies in Seattle when they launched Talus, leveraging their expertise in biochemistry, computational biology, and machine learning to drive the company’s success and innovation in the field of drug discovery.
Talus’ inclusion in a recent report on proteomics research highlights its contributions to the field of protein analysis and drug discovery. The report, which projects significant growth in the proteomics market, underscores the increasing importance of advancing technologies like MARMOT for understanding disease mechanisms and developing targeted therapies. With a focus on addressing hard-to-treat diseases through innovative drug discovery approaches, Talus is well-positioned to make a meaningful impact in the biotech industry and contribute to the growing body of research in proteomics and gene regulation.
