Pepticom has just secured some $6.6 million in a series A financing round to advance innovative therapies for autoimmune illnesses.
The company, which develops artificial intelligence-driven peptide-based therapeutics, secured the funding from Japan-Israel High Tech Ventures 2 LP, with continued support from existing investors.
The funding will accelerate the development of Pepticom’s oral IL-17 inhibitor program, which aims to create improved treatments for autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
Pepticom is developing two families of fully synthetic, small cyclic peptidomimetic inhibitors targeting both IL-17A and IL-17F isoforms, key drivers of inflammation in autoimmune diseases.
These compounds, composed of non-natural amino acids, have shown progress, achieving milestones quickly and cost-effectively, the company said. Studies have also shown increased stability and extended half-life in both laboratory and animal studies.
AI-powered Peptide Drug Discovery
Pepticom’s platform combines AI and machine learning with biochemistry to design peptides with specificity, stability and therapeutic potential.
Leveraging a library of more than 600 natural and non-natural amino acid building blocks, Pepticom aims to explore a vast chemical space of over 10⁸⁰ potential peptide structures, the company said.
This approach allows for the design and discovery of new peptidomimetic targets, offering advantages over traditional small molecule and biologic therapies.
Pepticom says its AI-driven platform speeds up the drug discovery process, bringing peptide therapies to patients faster and at a lower cost.
