G7 Therapeutics

G7 Therapeutics AG was a Swiss-based biotechnology firm established in 2012, specializing in drug discovery and development focused on G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The company was co-founded by Jörn Aldag, Andreas Plückthun, and Daniel Scott. Plückthun and Scott, both affiliated with the University of Zurich, invented the core CHESS stabilization technology that formed the basis of the company's platform. Carlo Bertozzi, previously a research scientist at the same university, served as the CEO, tasked with translating the technology into a viable business.

The company's primary business was centered on its proprietary drug development platform, designed to create specific small molecules and biologics that target GPCRs. GPCRs are a crucial family of membrane proteins linked to numerous human diseases, making them a significant class of drug targets. G7 Therapeutics developed two distinct and complementary proprietary technologies, SaBRE and CHESS, to stabilize these receptors. This stabilization is a critical step for enabling structure-based drug design, particularly for GPCRs that are present in very low numbers on cells. The platform was noted for its ability to rapidly identify a high number of stabilizing mutations, accelerating the generation of high-quality GPCRs for research and development.

The business model involved leveraging this specialized technology to form strategic partnerships with larger pharmaceutical and biotech companies. A notable collaboration was an agreement with MorphoSys in 2015 to discover and develop novel antibody candidates against a set of GPCR targets. In November 2016, Heptares Therapeutics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sosei Group Corporation, acquired G7 Therapeutics for CHF 12 million in cash. The acquisition was strategic, aiming to combine Heptares' StaR® platform with G7's SaBRE and CHESS technologies to enhance R&D productivity in generating stabilized GPCRs. Following the acquisition, G7 Therapeutics was renamed Heptares Zurich and became a Swiss-based subsidiary of Heptares.

Keywords: G7 Therapeutics, Heptares Zurich, Sosei Group, GPCR, G protein-coupled receptors, drug discovery, biotechnology, structure-based drug design, SaBRE technology, CHESS technology, antibody candidates, MorphoSys, Carlo Bertozzi, Andreas Plückthun, Daniel Scott, Jörn Aldag, protein stabilization, biologics, small molecules, pharmaceutical partnerships, biotech acquisition