The new startup, pre-funding, joined the backend of our Seed Class of 2013, although the initial investment didn’t happen until the winter of 2014. ![]() Working with serial entrepreneur Mike Gilman, who had just returned to Atlas from a stint at Biogen, and both Paul and Kerri (as well as their colleagues at Scripps), we co-founded Padlock with the aim of translating these insights into therapies in autoimmunity. In the summer of 2013, we got excited about the role of peptidyl arginine deiminases (PADs) in driving antigenic citrullination, based on cutting-edge research from The Scripps Research Institute in particular, research from Paul Thompson (now at UMass) into the biochemistry and structure of PADs, and Kerri Mowen into the biologic relevance of these enzymes. As I describe later, we had a number of attractive strategic options in front of us, but in the end BMS and its commitment to exploring the Padlock’s biology in autoimmunity won the day.īefore sharing a few reflections, here’s the history of the deal. We certainly never anticipated exiting our investment within two years, but Padlock’s trajectory and R&D progress has been staggeringly fast and attracted the interest of multiple suitors late last year. ![]() Today we announced the acquisition of Padlock Therapeutics by BMS for up to $600M in total deal value ( here), bringing a bittersweet end to a great startup story and the start of a promising and likely productive portfolio for BMS.
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