Tasca launches to drug protein pockets

Tasca Therapeutics has launched to develop small molecules designed to bind to proteins with hydrophobic pockets that undergo autopalmitoylation, a process that determines where the protein goes and what it does. The start-up has raised $52 million across a seed and series A round. Cure Ventures co-led the series A with the venture arm of Regeneron. Tasca will start by evaluating its lead drug candidate—a molecule called CP-383—in small-cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, and glioblastoma. CEO Milenko Cicmil says the last indication is of particular interest because CP-383 can cross the blood-brain barrier—a challenge in treating the infamously aggressive brain cancer.