Keep pulling the thread on Martin Burke.
Excelsior Sciences, a startup co-founded by Martin Burke, has raised $95 million to build an automated platform for small molecule synthesis and testing.
Martin Burke's research concluded that amphotericin kills cells by binding to sterols, not by forming ion channels, overturning the long-held mechanism described in textbooks and approximately 5,000 papers.
The automated platform at Excelsior Sciences has reduced the drug discovery iteration cycle time from months to one to two weeks.
Martin Burke believes it is now possible for the first time to build foundation models for predicting molecular properties through active learning with carbon-carbon bond-based chemical matter.
Elyon (formerly Funga Therapeutics) has advanced a next-generation antifungal compound, designated AM2-19 or EL219, into Phase 2 clinical trials.
Excelsior Sciences' strategy involves using common chemical blocks extracted from successful drugs as physical reagents on its robotic platform to build new potential medicines, a concept Martin Burke calls "drug repurposing at the block level."
Martin Burke's "block chemistry" is a method of iterative carbon-carbon bond formation designed to make chemical synthesis faster, more automated, and user-friendly.
Martin Burke has overseen academic research on small molecules designed to treat fungal infections without causing kidney toxicity.
Martin Burke's research includes developing small molecules that mobilize iron transport through tissues to treat various forms of anemia.
The platform at Excelsior Sciences is designed to treat small molecule compounds as "tokens" for AI learning, analogous to how large language models process text.
The Gliadel wafer, co-developed by Henry Brem and Bob Langer, was the first new clinically approved treatment for glioblastoma in approximately 20 years at the time of its approval.
Martin Burke's first academic proposal was to re-engineer the molecule amphotericin to function as a "molecular prosthetic" for treating cystic fibrosis.