Gandeeva therapyFounded in 2021, it is developing precision imaging solutions integrating cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and artificial intelligence.In an interview, the CEO and founder Sriram Subramaniam said its technology could be used to advance drug discovery and reduce the risk of late-stage clinical failure.
Why did you start this company?
As the CEO and founder of Gandeeva, I have spent more than two decades fulfilling my dream of being able to actually walk inside human cells and unravel the key to the complex molecular networks that cells use to carry out their functions molecular interactions. In almost all diseases, these intricate networks of communication are disrupted by defective proteins or faulty connections in the network.
Sriram Subramaniam
Just imagine if we could surgically repair these defective components, just as engineers can repair the electrical grid and restore cells to health, and when that’s not possible, have the entire defective cell stop working without affecting other healthy cells nearby . This is the future of precision medicine.
What needs are you seeking to address in healthcare?
Despite tremendous advances in medicine, drug discovery remains an expensive, slow and often ineffective process. We anticipate that our platform will allow us to find the most effective drugs by discovering the surfaces and interfaces best suited for drug targeting to achieve the necessary therapeutic effects.
What does your product do? How does it work?
Using powerful imaging methods that my team and I have pioneered over the past few years, we can now visualize a wide variety of proteins and protein complexes at atomic resolution under physiologically relevant conditions. We can see drug molecules bound to these proteins. We can imagine how disease mutations affect the structure of these proteins and their networks.
This technique, known as cryo-electron microscopy (or cryo-EM for short), has begun to revolutionize biology. Our technology platform combines machine learning, biochemistry, structural biology, cryo-EM imaging, and computational modeling to characterize protein-drug interactions at the atomic level, aiming to provide new insights into targeted protein function.
By combining the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools with cryo-EM, Gandeeva Therapeutics is poised to enable a paradigm shift in how drugs are produced.
Is this your first healthcare startup? What is your background in healthcare?
For more than two decades, I have worked at the intersection of biology, engineering, medicine and chemistry. After my undergraduate degree in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, I got my Ph.D. He received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Stanford University and completed his postdoctoral training in the Department of Chemistry and Biology at MIT.
I was the first founder, but I built and led interdisciplinary teams at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, where I served as the biochemistry lab and cell biology lab Director of the Division of Biophysics in the Laboratory. The work that my colleagues and I are conducting at NIH has shown for the first time that the structure of proteins, bound drugs, and various dynamic protein complexes can be visualized at near-atomic resolution using cryo-electron microscopy.
In 2019, I was appointed the Gobind Khorana Canada Research Excellence Chair at the University of British Columbia, where I led an interdisciplinary project in cancer drug design, which led me to found Gandeeva in 2021 with a very exciting set of supports Therapeutics lays the groundwork for investors interested in artificial intelligence, biotechnology and drug discovery.
What is your company’s business model?
Gandeeva’s drug discovery platform is the first of its kind. We start by identifying the right protein interface to target, then use cutting-edge artificial intelligence and deep structural knowledge gathered from the world’s most advanced imaging platforms to develop superior treatments for patients.
Who are your customers?
Our mission is to transform patients’ lives by developing highly targeted, first-in-class therapies. We are open to exploring opportunities to expand our program and invite potential partners to contact us for informal discussions.
How do you generate income?
Our revenue will come from medicines that provide solutions to diseases of unmet need. Our proprietary platform combines breakthrough technologies in chemistry, biology, imaging and machine learning. We visualize, measure and capture protein-protein and protein-drug interactions with unprecedented speed and resolution to precisely target disease-related proteins and influence their function.
Is your product clinically proven?
All of our drug discovery programs are aimed at clinically validated goals.
For life science companies: What stage of development is your lead product at?
All projects in our pipeline are in the preclinical stage.
picture: Gandeeva therapy
