Empress Therapeutics co-founders from L-R: John Mendlein, Sabrina Yang, Jason Park, and Doug Cole.

June 21, 2023 06:00 AM EDTUpdated 06:27 AM

Flagship startup Empress Therapeutics launches to search for small molecule drug leads in microbial DNA

Ryan Cross

Senior Science Correspondent

Flagship’s latest startup is betting that a treasure trove of small molecule drugs is waiting to be discovered right inside our bodies — or rather, inside the many microbial denizens that call humans home.

Empress Therapeutics emerged from stealth Wednesday morning with $50 million from Flagship Pioneering, the life science investment firm behind Moderna and dozens of smaller biotech companies. Empress, based in Cambridge, MA, was quietly founded in 2020 and has since grown to nearly 30 employees.

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Flagship startup Empress Therapeutics launches to search for small molecule drug leads in microbial DNA

Ryan Cross

Senior Science Correspondent

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

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Flagship startup Empress Therapeutics launches to search for small molecule drug leads in microbial DNA

Despite a summer of blockbuster rounds, biotech funding is on track to level off at pre-pandemic norms

FDA rolls out long-awaited proposal to overhaul diagnostics regulation

How academic centers are trying to keep their promising drug discoveries out of the ‘valley of death’

FDA unveils new rare disease pilot program to increase agency-sponsor communications

In the race to get type 1 patients off insulin, focus turns to cell transplants and insulin-producing stem cells

Data Quality 2.0: The Future of Real-World Evidence