Computing brain entry

1st Biotherapeutics Inc. aims to develop a pipeline of first- or best-in-class molecules for CNS diseases by using computational tools to achieve better blood-brain barrier penetration and PK properties than marketed drugs against the same targets. Lead candidate 1ST-102 is a preclinical ABL proto-oncogene 1 non-receptor tyrosine kinase (c-ABL; ABL; ABL1) inhibitor in development for Parkinson’s disease.

CEO Jamie Jae Eun Kim told BioCentury she launched 1st Biotherapeutics in 2016 after assembling a suite of computational tools capable of optimizing the properties of small molecules, in particular compound families that have been difficult to get into the CNS...