Forge Therapeutics To Present At The 2018 Needham & Company Healthcare Conference

SAN DIEGO, March 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Forge Therapeutics, Inc. (Forge), a biotechnology company developing novel medicines targeting metalloenzymes, today announced it will present at the Needham Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at the Westin New York Grand Central Hotel. 

"Antibiotics are some of the world's most widely used medicines but overuse in the clinic and agriculture has led to resistance to most classes.  As a result, novel classes of antibiotics are desperately needed," said Zachary A. Zimmerman, Ph.D., CEO of Forge.  "We are developing an initial portfolio of four novel classes of antibiotics that consist of direct-acting, small molecules handcrafted in our labs using our novel BLACKSMITH platform focused on high priority drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria."

BLACKSMITH Platform & Strategy

Forge's platform called BLACKSMITH comprises a deep knowledge of metalloenzymes, bioinorganic and medicinal chemistry know-how, and a focused fragment library of proprietary metal-binding pharmacophores (MBPs) that provide selective & diverse starting points for novel inhibitors.  Our strategy is to use the BLACKSMITH platform to discover new chemical matter for the treatment of a broad range of diseases in areas of unmet needs with initial efforts in the area of infectious disease. To date, Forge has performed several metalloenzyme screens with high hit rates providing multiple starting points to build potent selective inhibitors of metalloenzymes across a variety of therapeutic areas. 

About Forge Therapeutics

At Forge Therapeutics, we are developing medicines targeting metal-dependent enzymes found in nature.  Over 30% of known enzymes are metalloenzymes covering all major enzymes classes:  oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, isomerases, and ligases.  Metal ions, including magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese, calcium, cobalt, and copper are the essential ingredient in these metalloenzymes.  At Forge, we are the BLACKSMITHS of modern medicine, providing the tools to address any metalloenzyme challenge.

Forge's lead effort is focused on LpxC, a zinc metalloenzyme found only in Gram-negative bacteria and which is essential for bacteria to grow.  Forge has a strategic alliance with leading drug discovery alliance and development partnership company Evotec AG and has been awarded multiple government awards including CARB-X.  In addition, Forge has amassed a rich intellectual property estate on metalloprotein inhibitors to protect its BLACKSMITH platform and pipeline including technology licensed from UCSD. For further information, please visit the company's website www.ForgeTherapeutics.com and follow us on Twitter @ForgeThera.

Forge Company Contact: 
[email protected]

Forge Media Contact:
Amy Conrad
Juniper Point
[email protected] 
858-366-3243

SOURCE Forge Therapeutics, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.forgetherapeutics.com