Shasqi

Type| Private
Industry| Biotechnology, oncology, chemistry
Founded| 2015
Founder| José Mejía Oneto
Headquarters| San Francisco, California, United States
Website| www.shasqi.com

Shasqi is a biotechnology company based in San Francisco, California.[1][2] The company is known for developing click chemistry-based therapies to treat cancer. Their targeting approach is designed to activate powerful cancer therapies at the desired location in the body (e.g. the tumor), thereby minimizing side effects of powerful cancer treatments.[3][4][5][6] Shasqi is the first to use click chemistry in humans.[7][8][9]

## History[edit]

Shasqi was founded in 2015 after participating in Y Combinator’s program.[10][11] The company was named after the shasqi, or chasqui, runners that distributed messages and goods across the Inca empire by running the Inca trails.[12] The need for Shasqi's mission came from the realization that only 1%–2% of the total dose of medicine given to a patient reaches its desired target in the body. José M. Mejía Oneto wondered if there was a better way to tell drugs where to go in the body.[5] Mejia Oneto started exploring click chemistry for this purpose, met Carolyn Bertozzi at a research conference in 2014 and decided to launch the company.[5]

Shasqi has been collaborating with the Royzen Lab at the University at Albany on research using click chemistry for sarcoma treatments since 2016.[13] In 2017, Mejía Oneto recruited Sebastian Sanchez de Lozada to help him run Shasqi.[14] The two had met as roommates while studying at Macalester College.[14] Shasqi has received multiple SBIR Phase II grants from the National Science Foundation in 2017 and from the National Institutes of Health.[15][8]

Shasqi began focusing exclusively on oncology in 2018.[14] The company developed a platform known as CAPAC (Click Activated Protodrugs Against Cancer), which is designed to localize cancer therapies at the tumor.[3][4] The platform's lead asset, SQ3370, is recorded as the first use of click chemistry in the human body.[4][5][7][8][16] This investigational product enables the activation of a chemotherapy medication, Doxorubicin, at the tumor site while reducing systemic side effects.[17][18][19][20] The CAPAC technology uses the tetrazine ligation to localize cancer therapies at the tumor site.[21][22][16]

Phase 1 of the SQ3370 clinical trial using the company's CAPAC technology, began in 2019.[23] Shasqi has presented interim Phase 1 results for SQ3370 in advanced solid tumors showing the total dose of doxorubicin administered to the tumor site was 12 times the conventional dose, without the myelosuppression and cardiac toxicity expected from those dose levels.[24] Shasqi advanced the SQ3370 program to a Phase 2 clinical trial in 2022 testing the safety and efficacy of SQ3370 in patients with solid tumors who have never received a dose of doxorubicin.[5][25]

The CAPAC technology is designed to enhance chemotherapies, as well as other cancer therapies, like antibody-drug conjugates.[26]

Shasqi was one of the companies that participated in the JPM20 healthcare conference.[27]

In October 2022, Shasqi Scientific Advisor Carolyn Bertozzi won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for bioorthogonal chemistry the concept on which the company's technology is based.[26][5][28]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Peninsula biotech looks to 'click' fresh $50M into new approach against cancer". bizjournals.com. 2021-11-12. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
2. ^ "How a small biotech worked its way out of storage space during the industry's biggest conference". bizjournals.com. 2020-01-07. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
3. ^ a b Lucas, Emmy (2021-11-11). "Shasqi snatches $50M for chemotherapy-boosting treatments thanks to Arcus, NGM execs". Fierce Biotech. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
4. ^ a b c "Click chemistry sees first use in humans". cen.acs.org. 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
5. ^ a b c d e f Buntz, Brian (2022-11-02). "Shasqi has a link to the Nobel Prize in Chemistry". Drug Discovery and Development. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
6. ^ "Basketball fan, keyboard player, and now Nobel Prize winner in chemistry: Mass. native caps pioneering career with highest honor - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
7. ^ a b "'Honeymoon-Phase' Chemical Partners Deliver a Toxic Drug to Tumors". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
8. ^ a b c Chawla, Sant P.; Batty, Kathleen; Aleckovic, Masa; Bhadri, Vivek; Bui, Nam; Guminski, Alexander David; Mejia Oneto, Jose Manuel; Srinivasan, Sangeetha; Strauss, James Fredric; Subbiah, Vivek; Weiss, Mia C.; Wilson, Rosalind; Yee, Nathan A.; Zakharian, Michael; Kwatra, Vineet (2022-06-01). "Interim phase 1 results for SQ3370 in advanced solid tumors". Journal of Clinical Oncology. 40 (16_suppl): 3085. doi:10.1200/JCO.2022.40.16_suppl.3085. ISSN 0732-183X.
9. ^ "The bioorthogonal revolution". Chemistry World. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
10. ^ "These seven researchers are changing the face of biotech". bizjournals.com. 2017-06-08. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
11. ^ "A better way to control where drugs go? Investors bet on small biotech's mission to 'click' together cancer meds". Endpoints News. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
12. ^ "Side Effects From Chemo Can Be Devastating. This Startup aims to change that". forbes.com.
13. ^ Cohen, Jessica Kim. "Shasqi and University at Albany investigate sarcoma treatment: 5 takeaways". www.beckersspine.com. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
14. ^ a b c "Partners with a Purpose". macalester.edu. 2021-11-16. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
15. ^ "NSF Award Search: Award # 1660258 - SBIR Phase II: Biomaterials and Chemistry to Enhance the Delivery of Medicines in the Body". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
16. ^ a b "The bioorthogonal revolution". Chemistry World. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
17. ^ Bhadri, Vivek; Subbiah, Vivek; Strauss, James; Chawla, Sant; Bui, Nam; Kwatra, Vineet; Weiss, Mia; Batty, Kathleen; Zakharian, Michael; Oneto, Jose Mejia; Srinivasan, Sangeetha; Yee, Nathan; Wilson, Rosalind; Saville, M. Wayne; Guminski, Alexander (2021-11-01). "367 Pharmacokinetic and immunologic data from a phase I study of the click chemistry-based therapy SQ3370 in advanced solid tumors and soft-tissue sarcoma provides proof-of-concept for the CAPAC platform". Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. 9 (Suppl 2). doi:10.1136/jitc-2021-SITC2021.367. ISSN 2051-1426. S2CID 243961223.
18. ^ "Chemistry Professor Contributes to a Cancer Treatment Now in Clinical Trials". University at Albany. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
19. ^ AACR 2022 Proceedings: Part B April 11-13. CTI Meeting Technology. 2022-05-09. ISBN 978-1-005-54374-7.
20. ^ Bukszpan, Daniel. "10 companies that want to make chemotherapy easier for patients". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
21. ^ "Click Chemotherapy". www.science.org. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
22. ^ "Abstract 4655: Local drug activation: Making cytotoxics safer for local tumors". aacrjournals.org. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
23. ^ "A Multicenter Phase 1/2a, Open-Label Study of SQ3370 in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors". Clinicaltrials.gov. 2022-11-28.
24. ^ Chawla, Sant P.; Batty, Kathleen; Aleckovic, Masa (2022-06-01). "Interim phase 1 results for SQ3370 in advanced solid tumors". Journal of Clinical Oncology. 40 (16_suppl): 3085. doi:10.1200/JCO.2022.40.16_suppl.3085. ISSN 0732-183X.
25. ^ "Nobel Prize awarded to three scientists for work in click chemistry, which links molecules quickly". Washington Post. 2022-10-05.
26. ^ a b "The first company to use Nobel-winning click chemistry in humans is on a mission to transform oncology". PharmaVoice. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
27. ^ "How small Shasqi worked its way out of storage during JPM Week". San Francisco Business Times. 2020-01-07. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
28. ^ "Life Is Sweet". stanfordmag.org. 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-12-07.