CHARM Therapeutics

Over the past decade, we have witnessed rapid progress in AI and have kept a keen eye on recent advancements in protein structure prediction. Laksh Aithani, founder of genei and a former machine learning expert at Exscientia, shares our belief that the potential for deep learning could transform next-generation structure-guided drug discovery efforts.

We helped connect Laksh to David Baker, Ph.D., winner of the Breakthrough Prize for his work in novel protein design and a world-renowned leader in predicting accurate three-dimensional structures of proteins – arguably the most significant breakthrough in applying AI to life sciences – whom we had worked with in the early days of Sana Biotechnology. Together, they fused a vision and plan to address the “protein-ligand” problem, fueling the creation of CHARM Tx to harness the power of 3D deep learning to deliver breakthrough medicines.

At F-Prime, we have a passion for helping build early-stage companies and believe in providing support beyond our initial investment. While Laksh worked out of our London office, F-Prime Partner Nihal Sinha, M.D., Venture Partner Muz Mansuri, Ph.D., and Senior Associate Martin Taylor, Ph.D., helped to establish the company by assisting with initial hiring, business plan development and advisory network creation. Under the leadership of Laksh as CEO, CHARM Tx recently came out of stealth mode with a $50 million seed financing co-led by OrbiMed and appointed the Founder and CEO of Odyssey Therapeutics, Gary Glick, Ph.D., as its Executive Chairman.

CHARM Tx brings a profound problem to the forefront of drug discovery and has the team and technology to translate hope into promise for patients with cancer and other diseases.