Proteolix, Inc., was a private

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

company with headquarters in South San Francisco,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. Proteolix was founded in 2003 based on technology developed by co-founders Dr. Craig Crews (Yale University) and Dr. Raymond J. Deshaies (California Institute of Technology). Drs. Susan Molineaux and Phil Whitcome (deceased) joined Drs. Crews and Deshaies as co-founders. Proteolix was launched based on an $18.2 million A round comprising investments by Latterell Venture Partners, US Venture Partners, Advanced Technology Ventures, and The Vertical Group. Proteolix focused primarily on the proteasome as a therapeutic target. Its lead product candidate,

carfilzomib Carfilzomib, sold under the brand name Kyprolis, is an anti-cancer medication acting as a selective proteasome inhibitor. Chemically, it is a tetrapeptide epoxyketone and an analog of epoxomicin. It was developed by Onyx Pharmaceuticals. The ...

(PR-171), is a tetrapeptide epoxyketone. At the time of its sale (see below), the company had two earlier-stage programs, an orally-bioavailable proteasome inhibitor for oncology (PR-047), and an agent preferentially targeting the immuno form of the proteasome (PR-957), with potential utility in areas such as rheumatoid arthritis. At the time of sale, Carfilzomib's route of administration was intravenous, and the company was exploring its potential utility in

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, ane ...

, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and other cancers. Proteolix was acquired by

Onyx Pharmaceuticals Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. has been a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. The company developed and marketed medicines for the treatment of cancer. Onyx was founded in 1992 by Kevin J. Kinsella and Frank ...

in 2009 for $810 million (nominal value). Onyx renamed PR-047 to
ONX 0912
and PR-957 to
ONX 0914
.

External links

Proteolix's corporate website
Biotechnology companies of the United States Companies based in South San Francisco, California Life sciences industry {{Med-company-stub