Challenges with Conventional Therapeutics
Small molecules have been a traditional source for drug discovery due to their ease of maufacture through chemical synthesis, predicatable pharmacokinetics, oral bioavailability, and cell permeability enabling access to intra- and extra-cellular target proteins. They can lack selectivity in binding the desired target protein, however, leading to disappointing efficacy and/or off-target effects and failure in development.
Monoclonal antibodies (biologics) and peptides, are much larger, more complex molecules, designed to bind target proteins with high specificity to provide efficacy with fewer off-target effects. They can be difficult and costly to manufacture, can be unstable, and often require special storage conditions. They are typically not cell permeable due to their molecular size, so their applications are often limited to extracellular targets, and they may have immunogenic potential. They are usually not orally active, requiring administration by injection either at home or at a healthcare facility if via the intravenous route.
Monoclonal antibodies (biologics) and peptides, are much larger, more complex molecules, designed to bind target proteins with high specificity to provide efficacy with fewer off-target effects. They can be difficult and costly to manufacture, can be unstable, and often require special storage conditions. They are typically not cell permeable due to their molecular size, so their applications are often limited to extracellular targets, and they may have immunogenic potential. They are usually not orally active, requiring administration by injection either at home or at a healthcare facility if via the intravenous route.
A Groundbreaking New Therapeutic Modality for Drug Discovery
With Spiroligomer™ molecules, ThirdLaw Molecular LLC is reimagining peptides, combining the advantages of both small molecules and biologics. They are larger than small molecules, with distinctly configured surface areas, for highly selective binding of target proteins to provide efficacy with fewer off-target effects. They are, however, ~1/100th the size of biologics, enabling cell permeability and access to both intra- and extra-cellular targets and the potential to reach previously “undruggable” targets.
Spiroligomer™ molecules have the potential for oral bioavailabilty, and the lack of peptide bonds in their molecular structures makes them invulnerable to degradation by proteases for improved pharmacokinetics. Their synthetic origin makes them non-immunogenic, and enables easy, predictable, scalable and automated manufacture. The unique molecular structure of fused rings along their backbones makes them conformationally rigid and highly stable, without the need for special storage conditions. These properties, together with our ability to computationally design molecules to bind specific target proteins, make the Spiroligomer™ technology a groundbreaking new platform for drug discovery.
ADVANTAGES OF SPIROLIGOMER™ MOLECULES
~800–5,000 Da
ThirdLaw Molecular is designing and synthesizing libraries of billions of highly structured, chemically diverse, Spiroligomer™ molecules capable of binding highly selectively to biological targets of interest. We are entering into research collaborations with pharmaceutical organizations to discover and optimize Spiroligomer™ molecules specific to their targets of interest, and to identify drug-development candidates with this new therapeutic modality.
Transforming
Diagnostic Testing
Spiroligomer™ molecules represent a revolutionary platform for the development of diagnostics based on their ability to selectively bind target proteins, their robustness and stability without special storage, and the ease with which they can be synthesized for affordable development and manufacture.