Third Rock Ventures & The Column Group Launch Nurix

Third Rock Ventures and The Column Group recently announced the launch of Nurix, Inc., a leader in discovering and developing therapies that modulate the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS), with a $25.1-million Series B financing that follows a $6.2-million seed financing in 2012 led by the same investors. The UPS is a regulatory pathway that directs protein degradation, a function vital to the healthy life of a cell, and presents therapeutic opportunities in multiple disease areas, including oncology. By taking a structural approach to critical protein-protein interactions in the UPS that drive serious diseases, Nurix is reaching therapeutic targets previously inaccessible to small molecule drug discovery.

“Our understanding of the fundamental biology of the ubiquitin proteasome system and its role in select cancers and other diseases has grown significantly and continues to expand rapidly,” said Mark A. Goldsmith, MD, PhD, interim CEO of Nurix and partner of Third Rock Ventures. “These advances have enabled Nurix to make breakthrough biological, structural, and chemical discoveries, positioning us to discover and develop small molecules with the potential to make a dramatic difference for patients. By combining a high-resolution molecular understanding of the ubiquitin proteasome system with innovative approaches to modulating its components, Nurix is making important progress in unlocking disease targets that have largely eluded drug discovery efforts.”

Nurix was founded by internationally recognized experts in the UPS field:

John Kuriyan, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and professor of molecular and cell biology and of chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, is an expert in the structural dynamics of ubiquitin ligases and other signaling complexes;
Michael Rapé, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and professor of cell and developmental biology, University of California, Berkeley, is a leader in the biology of ubiquitin-dependent cell cycle progression and carcinogenesis; and, Arthur Weiss, MD, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and Ephraim P. Engleman distinguished professor, University of California San Francisco, is a pioneer in immunology and signal transduction.

“Nurix’s platform approach is applicable to a wide array of targets within the ubiquitin proteasome system, and has the potential to enhance or inhibit protein degradation,” said Mark Gallop, PhD, CSO of Nurix. “This may allow us to promote the degradation of oncogenes or protect naturally occurring tumor suppressors from being destroyed in the cell. We believe the flexibility of this strategy combined with the ability to engineer high selectivity for specific ligase-substrate interactions makes this a powerful product engine with the potential to treat a number of serious diseases.”

Nurix’s founding management team brings deep scientific expertise and demonstrated success in drug discovery and development. Dr. Goldsmith was formerly CEO and is currently chairman of Constellation Pharmaceuticals and has held a series of leadership positions in biotechnology companies and academia. Dr. Gallop has 25 years of industry experience and previously co-founded XenoPort, Inc. David Goeddel, PhD, Managing Partner of The Column Group and a member of the Nurix board of directors, is a scientific pioneer in the biotechnology field and was co-founder and CEO of Tularik.