The 海角社区 Technology Bridge鈥檚 reputation as the heart of Houston鈥檚 innovation ecosystem continues to grow with the addition of Balto Pharmaceuticals.
Tech Bridge鈥檚 newest tenant focuses on the discovery and pre-clinical development of innovative cancer therapeutic candidates, which ideally would enter clinical trials and commercialization. Balto aims to provide immunotherapy to fight cancer and other diseases through targeted disruption of protein-to-protein interactions (PPI).
鈥淥n behalf of the entire UH Technology Bridge community, we are thrilled to extend our warmest welcome to Balto Pharmaceuticals,鈥� said Darayle Canada, program director, startup development operations at UH Technology Bridge. 鈥淲e are dedicated to providing them a dynamic and supportive environment that empowers companies like this to unlock their full potential.鈥�
Initially founded in California in 2015 by Wilson Xu, Balto鈥檚 mission was born from Xu鈥檚 research as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. During his studies, Xu developed a powerful molecular tool for analyzing PPIs that underlie biological and pathological processes in cancer and virtually any diseases.
Balto has developed proprietary ultra-robust and high-throughput synthetic biological DisRuPPT platforms to identify small molecule inhibitors of PPIs in cancer through a novel mechanism of 鈥渄isruption by degradation鈥�. The company has also developed proprietary companion synthetic biological AdaPPT platforms to discover molecular glues and degraders of proteins involved in tumorigenesis.
By focusing on disruptors/degraders of PPI, Balto is developing a novel and promising class of cancer therapeutics, potentially for treating cancer patients that either develop a resistance to or fail to respond to immune checkpoint therapy.
鈥淎mong all technology incubators we have visited, the 海角社区 Technology Bridge is at the very top of our list. The world-class design of wet lab spaces, offices and conference rooms offers an incredible environment for social and intellectual interactions among companies, students and faculty,鈥� Xu said. 鈥淲ith the outstanding support of the UH Technology Bridge, we anticipate that Balto will focus on its mission -- to discover and develop new breakthroughs in cancer treatment. We are very excited to become a part of the Houston innovation ecosystem.鈥�