Israeli-Founded Drug Development Startup DeepCure Secures $40M Series A Funding

DeepCure, an Israeli-founded Boston-based startup, which develops novel, small molecule therapeutics using what it claims to be the world’s largest AI drug discovery engine, announced on Monday the closing of a $40 million Series A financing round.

Morningside Ventures led the round, with participation from existing investors TLV Partners, Sapir Venture Partners, and Benon Group Ltd. In total, DeepCure has raised $47 million in financing since its inception.

According to a statement, the company is developing several novel preclinical candidates across different “undruggable” classes, ranging from polypharmacology programs to protein-protein interactions and previously “impossible” specificity challenges critical in various indications in areas of high unmet medical need. DeepCure’s technology is said to enable shorter timelines to develop high-quality drug candidates.

“We are delighted to welcome a top-tier syndicate of leading healthcare investors led by Morningside Ventures that support our vision of developing an end-to-end drug discovery pipeline designed, optimized, synthesized, and analyzed by AI,” said Kfir Schreiber, CEO, and Co-Founder, DeepCure. “We have made tremendous progress since founding DeepCure a few years ago, and this financing reflects strong support for our technology platform, people, strategy, and most importantly, our mission to accelerate the discovery of novel targets and therapies which were previously undruggable.”

The proceeds from this latest round will be put to several uses, including expanding DeepCure’s pipeline with five additional oncology programs, and the development of an automated robotic wet lab, which is a carefully constructed and controlled environment to prevent spillage of potentially wet hazards and contamination. DeepCure will also seek to double its cohort of scientists and technologists in 2022, including a global expansion with the launch of two new sites in Greece and Israel.

“This investment positions us to advance our first novel small molecule compound to file for IND, advance our pipeline and realize our vision of making a significant impact for patients,” added Joseph Jacobson, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, and Co-Founder, DeepCure.

“DeepCure’s advanced drug discovery platform is further evidence of the power of data in the realm of life sciences,” said Stephen Bruso of Morningside Ventures. “By pairing the world’s largest molecular database with sophisticated AI algorithms, DeepCure has the ability to deliver novel small molecule therapeutics to patients with significant unmet need.”