Metabomed

About Metabomed

Metabomed is a drug discovery company focused on the field of cancer metabolism. Founded in 2014 by a team of scientists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, the company aims to develop small molecule drugs that target metabolic pathways in cancer cells. The founders include Professor Eyal Gottlieb, a principal investigator at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow and a leading expert in cancer metabolism; Dr. Simone Botti, who serves as the company's Vice President of Biology; and Dr. Lital Arga-Geffen, the Vice President of Chemistry. Their collective expertise in cancer biology and drug development forms the foundation of the company's scientific approach.

The company's core technology is an integrated discovery platform that combines computational biology, biochemistry, and chemistry to identify novel drug targets within the metabolic vulnerabilities of cancer cells. This platform enables the identification of new allosteric sites—locations on an enzyme different from the active site—which can be targeted to inhibit enzyme function and disrupt the cancer's growth. By focusing on these specific metabolic dependencies, Metabomed seeks to create therapies that are effective against drug-resistant tumors. The business model revolves around leveraging this platform for in-house drug development and forming strategic collaborations with pharmaceutical companies to advance its discoveries through the clinical pipeline and toward commercialization. Metabomed's primary clients are large pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms looking to expand their oncology pipelines with novel, metabolism-targeted therapies.

Metabomed's lead program, MTB-1807, targets the ACSS2 enzyme, which is crucial for the survival of certain types of cancer cells, particularly in harsh tumor microenvironments. The company has successfully identified a series of potent and selective small molecule inhibitors for this target. This achievement represents a significant milestone, demonstrating the capability of its discovery engine to develop first-in-class cancer drugs.