Tacere Therapeutics
Tacere is an innovative biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics to treat serious infectious diseases using its proprietary knowledge in the screening and development of both novel and traditional compounds. Its lead therapeutic compound is TT-033i, an RNA interference (RNAi) drug for the treatment of Hepatitis C.
Technology
Tacere balances traditional and novel approaches to treating HCV using internal expertise in research and development coupled with its extensive academic and clinical alliances.
Unlike small molecule drugs, RNAi allows you to target multiple regions of HCV simultaneously, making the therapeutic effective for a far more diverse patient population. Additionally, the multitargeting approach creates a “cocktail in one drug” similar to HIV drug regimens. Tacere founders pioneered the application of RNAi for infectious diseases and have developed a clinically relevant means of systemic delivery for TT-033i.
RNA interference is a natural mechanism that exists in every cell of the human body and can be redirected to silence genes and genetic elements, including viruses such as HCV. Unlike small molecule drugs, RNAi allows you to target multiple regions of HCV simultaneously, making the therapeutic effective for a far more diverse patient population. Additionally, the multi-targeting approach creates a “cocktail in one drug” similar to HIV drug regimens. Tacere founders pioneered the application of RNAi for infectious diseases and have developed a clinically relevant means of systemic delivery for TT-033i, a drug that has been advanced by this team from proof of concept to IND-enabling studies over the last several years and has now been exclusively in-licensed by Tacere.
While novel therapeutics will capture an ever-increasing market segment, the treatment of virtually all infectious disease is dominated by small molecules. Capitalizing on our expertise in HCV as a disease target, Tacere will simultaneously advance a number of small molecules to lead optimization and the clinic. The progression of these compounds will be via a strategic alliance with an infectious disease company which currently has an anti-HIV compound in Phase 2b clinical development. The compounds form two distinct mechanistic classes and were identified from the screening of two unrelated chemical libraries. One class targets the Hepatitis C virus RNA polymerase while the other class targets cellular components critical for viral replication. The use of viral polymerase inhibitors to inhibit viral replication is a well known antiviral mode of drug action e.g., the many nucleoside and non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitors of HIV infection. The second set of compounds, initially identified by a top 10 pharmaceutical company, do not appear to inhibit HCV specified processes although they show significant potency and selectivity in inhibiting HCV replication. It is possible that, like other inhibitors of cellular factors required for viral replication, these could find utility in other fields and be out-licensed for indications other than HCV. The compounds in the AT-0sm portfolio will be optimized and developed using both in-house skills and experience and through the use of cost-effective contract laboratories.