Constellation Pharmaceuticals Closes $32 Million in Series A Funding.-Company Founded by Pioneers in Emerging Field of Epigenetics- CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Constellation Pharmaceuticals, the first biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel drugs targeting selective regulators of epigenetic epigenetic /epi·ge·net·ic/ (-je-net´ik) 1. pertaining to epigenesis. 2. altering the activity of genes without changing their structure. function, today announced that it has closed a $32 million Series A financing. Proceeds from the financing will be used to establish the discovery platform and accelerate the development of a preclinical candidate pipeline of epigenetic-targeted drugs. Third Rock Ventures, The Column Group and Venrock co-led the round. Constellation Pharmaceuticals was founded by three of the foremost authorities and leaders within the field of Epigenetics: Danny Reinberg, Ph.D, Professor of Biochemistry at the New York University New York University, mainly in New York City; coeducational; chartered 1831, opened 1832 as the Univ. of the City of New York, renamed 1896. It comprises 13 schools and colleges, maintaining 4 main centers (including the Medical Center) in the city, as well as the School of Medicine and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Institute; Yang Shi, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology at the Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. It is a prestigious American medical school located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. and David Allis, Ph.D., Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Chromatin chromatin: see chromosome. Biology at The Rockefeller University Rockefeller University, philanthropic organization in New York City, founded 1901 as the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research by John D. Rockefeller for furthering medical science and its allied subjects and to make knowledge of these subjects available to the . Epigenetics is an exciting new field of biology that involves chemical modifications of both DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. and of its packaging proteins, which are collectively called the 'epigenome.' The genome, or DNA, is the "blueprint" for the human body, consisting of thousands of genes, which are the fundamental units of information necessary for normal cell growth and development. In contrast, the epigenome plays a critical role in regulating the expression of genes, that is, switching genes on or off - or in the case of disease, for switching genes on or off incorrectly. This new field of Epigenetic science provides the opportunity to create a broad new class of human therapeutics targeting selective regulators of epigenetic function. Constellation Pharmaceuticals is developing a deep pipeline of preclinical drug candidates based on the unique insights of the founders and scientific advisory board. The Company's initial focus is modulating epigenetic function, particularly histone histone (hĭs`tōn), any of a class of protein molecules found in the chromosomes of eukaryotic cells. They complex with the DNA (see nucleic acid) and pack the DNA into tight masses of chromatin, which have the structure of coiled coils, much modification, to discover and develop novel drugs for oncology. Constellation's technology platform is also applicable to other therapeutic areas including autoimmune, inflammatory and neurological diseases. Constellation's Board of Directors include: Anthony Evnin, Partner, Venrock; David Goeddel David Goeddel (born 1951 in San Diego) is a pioneer of the biotechnology industry who, employed at the time by Genentech, sucessfully used genetic engineering to coax bacteria into creating human insulin, human growth hormone, and human TPA for use in therapeutic medicine. , Ph.D., Partner, The Column Group; Mark Levin, Partner, Third Rock Ventures; Tom Maniatis Tom Maniatis born 8 May, 1943 in Denver, Colorado is an American professor of molecular and cellular biology. Maniatis is a graduate of the University of Colorado. At the age of 28 he received a PhD in Molecular Biology from Vanderbilt University, and he received Honorary , Ph.D., Professor, Harvard University Harvard University, mainly at Cambridge, Mass., including Harvard College, the oldest American college. Harvard College Harvard College, originally for men, was founded in 1636 with a grant from the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. ; and, Bob Tepper, M.D., Partner, Third Rock Ventures. "Through Epigenetics, which represents a breakthrough in our understanding of biology at an entirely new level, at the interface between DNA and gene expression, we believe there is an unprecedented opportunity to create a novel class of drugs that will target gene function in a completely new and enhanced way," said Mark Levin, interim Chief Executive Officer, Constellation Pharmaceuticals and Partner, Third Rock Ventures. "As the first company dedicated to the development of novel therapeutics in the field of Epigenetics, we are delighted to leverage our founders' unparalleled knowledge base into this newly developing and highly exciting field of biology to create breakthrough drugs for patients." "The new discoveries in the field of Epigenetics, particularly in the area of histone lysine lysine (lī`sēn), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins. Only the l-stereoisomer appears in mammalian protein. methyltransferases and demethylases, have demonstrated a tremendous potential to target and treat many devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. human diseases in a fundamental way," said Yang Shi, Ph.D., Founder, Constellation Pharmaceuticals and Professor of Pathology at the Harvard Medical School. "As the genome captured the interest and imagination of the scientific community to identify new, breakthrough therapeutics, the epigenome provides an entirely new class of targets for the development of a novel class of therapeutics with the potential to dramatically improve the way diseases are treated," said David Allis, Ph.D., Founder, Constellation Pharmaceuticals and Head of the Laboratory of Chromatin Biology at The Rockefeller University. "I am delighted to join my esteemed colleagues in this exciting new venture, and to have the opportunity to work with an experienced and proven management team and outstanding scientific advisory board, with the goal of rapidly advancing and translating this new and exciting field of science into a new class of medicines," said Danny Reinberg, Ph.D., Founder, Constellation Pharmaceuticals and Professor of Biochemistry at the New York University School of Medicine and an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Institute. Also supporting the Company's efforts is a Scientific Advisory Board featuring some of the most renowned scientific experts within the field of Epigenetics and oncology, including; Julian Adams, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Infinity Pharmaceuticals; Xiaodong Cheng, Ph.D., Professor, Emory University Emory University (ĕm`ərē), near Atlanta, Ga.; coeducational; United Methodist; chartered as Emory College 1836, opened 1837 at Oxford. It became Emory Univ. in 1915 and in 1919 moved to Atlanta. ; Thomas Jenuwein, Ph.D., Director, Max Planck Institute; Rick Klausner, M.D., Managing Partner, The Column Group and former Director of the National Cancer Institute; Arnold Levine, Ph.D., Professor, Institute of Advanced Study; David Livingston, M.D., Deputy Director, Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Institute; Scott Lowe, Ph.D., Professor, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory  The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory ; and, Robert Tjian,
Ph.D., Professor, University of California at Berkeley (body, education) University of California at Berkeley - (UCB)See also Berzerkley, BSD. http://berkeley.edu/. Note to British and Commonwealth readers: that's /berk'lee/, not /bark'lee/ as in British Received Pronunciation. . About Constellation Pharmaceuticals Constellation Pharmaceuticals is the first biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel therapeutics in the emerging field of Epigenetics, a new field of science which is focused on selective regulators of epigenetic function, which are critical to controlling gene function and expression. Constellation's primary focus is in oncology, but the company's platform will also be applicable to other therapeutic areas including autoimmune, inflammatory and neurological diseases. The Company's founders represent the core thought leaders in Epigenetics, responsible for key advances, insights and discoveries in the field. Constellation Pharmaceuticals is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.constellationpharma.com. |
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