LOTTE Holdings backs AI drug designer Metaphore Biotechnologies

LOTTE Holdings, through its Healthcare & Biopharmaceutical CVC arm, has invested in Metaphore Biotechnologies, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based drug-discovery startup. Founded by Flagship Pioneering in 2021, Metaphore uses generative AI to design antibodies with unique mechanisms of action.

Metaphore combines live-cell experiments with AI to design antibodies from the outset rather than relying on static structural data. The company says its platform can produce drug-like molecules in eight to 16 weeks.

Metaphore is targeting metabolic disease, immunology and peripheral artery disease. Its lead programme, a GLP-2R agonist for short bowel syndrome, is designed for monthly dosing, while the company is also advancing a multi-target agonist for obesity.

The investment adds corporate capital to Metaphore's AI-driven drug-design effort as it develops programmes in metabolic disease and immunology.