Spinout named a ‘Fierce 15’ company

University of Dundee spinout Amphista Therapeutics has been designated as one of the world’s most promising biotechnology companies.

Amphista, a leader in next generation targeted protein degradation (TPD), was named as one of 2022’s ‘Fierce 15’ biotechnology companies by the prestigious industry news outlet Fierce Biotech.

Amphista’s mission is to unlock the full therapeutic potential of TPD, a revolutionary new approach to drug discovery, by harnessing the body’s natural processes to degrade and remove disease-causing proteins selectively and efficiently. The company is a spinout from the lab of Professor Alessio Ciulli at the University’s School of Life Sciences.

Every year Fierce Biotech evaluates hundreds of early-stage companies from around the world for its annual Fierce 15 list, which is based on a variety of factors such as the strength of its technology, partnerships, venture backers and a competitive market position. The Fierce 15 celebrates the spirit of being ‘fierce’ – championing innovation and creativity, even in the face of intense competition. 

Nicki Thompson, CEO of Amphista, said “We are delighted to be selected as a ‘Fierce 15’ company in a year where we have made outstanding progress in advancing our proprietary Eclipsys™ platform and therapeutic portfolio and in expansion of our world-leading team. 

“This also comes in a year where our technology has been further recognised and validated by our strategic collaborations with global pharmaceutical companies Merck Healthcare, a division of Merck, and Bristol Myers Squibb worth more than $2 billion. We remain dedicated to advancing our ground-breaking science with the potential to open up this exciting modality by delivering medicines to patients across a wider range of diseases.”

TPD exploits the body’s own cellular waste disposal system to destroy disease-causing proteins, rather than inhibiting their function. This new approach provides hope of treating diseases previously thought to be undruggable and is applicable to diverse areas including oncology, dermatology, immunology, respiratory and central nervous system diseases.

Degrading rather than inhibiting a target protein offers several advantages such as better drug response at lower doses as well as reduced side effects and disease resistance.

Amphista’s technology is specifically designed to develop next generation TPD therapeutics based on mechanistic insights and novel chemistry approaches that enable the company to develop novel protein degrading therapeutics with superior levels of efficacy and broad therapeutic applicability.

Dundee is a world leader in TPD, with its new Centre for Targeted Protein Degradation helping to bolster this position further by building on the work of Professor Ciulli and other scientists based at the University.