Zymeworks

Zymeworks Inc.
Private
Industry Biotechnology
Founded 2003
Headquarters Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Key people
Ali Tehrani
Donald L. Drakeman
Products Pharmaceuticals
Number of employees
36 (17 PhDs)
Website www.zymeworks.com

Zymeworks Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company based in Vancouver, British Columbia that develops protein therapeutics for the treatment of cancer as well as for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The products are based upon the company's molecular modeling software for optimizing protein structure.[1][2][3] In 2014, Zymeworks raised $44 million across various funding rounds according to PitchBook, placing it among the top 10 HealthTech businesses in the world to raise the most capital that year. [4]

Azymetric™

This is an IgG1-based heterodimeric antibody scaffold that consists of two different heavy chains engineered to exclusively assemble into a single molecule, allowing bi-specific binding to two different antigens or drug targets. The Azymetric™ scaffold is engineered by making amino acid changes in the CH3 region of the constant Fc domain of the IgG1.[5][6] This scaffold can also be engineered with tailored effector function and optimized serum half-life. Bi-specific antibody therapeutics potentially allow drug-makers to combine two existing drugs used as a cocktail into one potent therapeutic.

Awards & Recognition

References

  1. (April 12, 2012). "About Zymeworks". Retrieved 2012-04-12.
  2. Holmes, David (2011). "Buy Buy Bispecific Antibodies". Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 10: 798. doi:10.1038/nrd3581.
  3. DePalma, Angelo (2011). "Improving Classic Antibody Engineering: Diverse Methodologies and Fresh Insights Turn a Good Technique into an Even Better One". Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News 31 (36).
  4. "The 10 healthtech companies that raised the most capital in 2014". Hot Topics. January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  5. (April 19, 2012). "Azymetric". Retrieved 2012-04-19. https://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/mabs/article/25632/
  6. https://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/mabs/article/25632/
  7. (April 4, 2011). "Congratulations to Zymeworks, #12 in 2011's Most Innovative Companies in B.C.". Retrieved 2012-04-12.
  8. (March 1, 2011) "2011 Ready to Rocket Life Science Presentation" Retrieved 2012-04-12.
  9. "2009 BIOTECanada Annual Report". Retrieved 2012-04-12.