Ship of Theseus
A therapeutics company developing degradation-resistant Hox family biologics
Ship of Theseus is developing a fleet of biologics based on the homeobox (HOX) family of transcription factors. The 39 HOX genes are master regulators of many context-specific cell phenotypes and coordinated tissue-level behaviors. The 39 Homeobox genes can be thought of as a piano with 39 keys. By playing different chords (different combinations of HOXs), almost any cell behavior can be generated. |
However, due to their power, cells have machinery to quickly eliminate these proteins so that their duration of effect is very brief. For that reason, HOX proteins are difficult to develop as drugs.
Ship of Theseus makes proprietary modifications to a conserved domain of the HOX protein sequence. These modified molecules avoid the intracellular "garbage disposal," allowing the proteins to be used as pharmaceuticals without the need for frequent repeat dosing. |