CAMP4 Therapeutics is on a mission to modernize the way the pharma industry discovers new treatments. Operating at the intersection of biology and computation, CAMP4 is building on seminal discoveries in gene regulation circuitry made by Company founders, Dr. Richard Young (Whitehead Institute/MIT) and Dr. Leonard Zon (Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard University). Backing its ambitious plans, CAMP4 has brought together leading venture capital firms Polaris Partners, who initially seeded the Company, and Andreessen Horowitz, who led a $30 million Series A round, with continued participation from Polaris and The Kraft Group.
To enable its vision, CAMP4 is focusing efforts to scale its proprietary 4-D Gene Circuity Platform across all human cell types relevant to disease. “The machinery that controls activation of the 24,000 genes in the human body can be codified by CAMP4’s platform into a discrete set of combinatorial rules using signaling pathways. By combining novel experimental data and computational capabilities, our platform solves the control code for any gene and cell type central to disease pathology. We have already generated a high resolution 4-D map of the liver and all of its associated disease genes,” commented Josh Mandel-Brehm, Chief Executive at CAMP4.
The company was founded in 2016 and has been in stealth mode until now. CAMP4 is focused on a core mission of realizing a world with an effective treatment option for every patient. It evolved from seminal discoveries made by company founders Dr. Richard Young and Dr. Leonard Zon, characterizing the ways in which dynamic cell signaling networks control the expression of genes. Operating at the intersection of genomics, computational biology and data sciences, CAMP4 has extended this foundational work, creating a unique Gene Circuitry Platform to amplify the value of cellular and genetic insights to better understand how genes are controlled by signaling pathways in specific disease states.
“Since forming the company in 2016, we have seen the incredible impact of CAMP4’s 4-D gene circuitry platform in generating insights into many currently unaddressed diseases. CAMP4’s technology has the potential to make a step change in both time and dollars required to discover new treatments for the sickest patients,” commented Amir Nashat, Partner at Polaris.
CAMP4 believes the impact of its activities can substantially de-risk and shorten the drug development process, otherwise historically characterized by poor productivity and long approval timelines. Proceeds from the financing will be used to expand the use of its platform to other human cell types and accelerate collaborations with partners toward novel target discoveries and new applications for existing chemistries, extending their life cycle and value into areas previously not considered.
