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We create activating antibodies to treat diseases others can’t.
Abalone Bio is tackling challenging undrugged targets underlying diseases affecting millions, focusing first cell-specific antibody drugs to treat obesity and metabolic disease without the GI side effects that cause 25% of GLP-1 drug patients to quit after 1 year. + High throughput experimental measurement uniquely leverages AI/ML: We’ve engineered cells to measure antibodies for pharmacological activity, not just structure or binding like others, 100 million at a time, 100X+ the throughput of others. With our large, proprietary activity datasets, we uniquely leverage ML to both unlock the discovery of rare hits and generate optimized hits for challenging targets, starting with G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) + Proven success: We have developed antibody agonists (activators) for 2 out of the 8 G-protein coupled receptors ever drugged by biotech. + Pharma traction: We’ve secured 3 partnerships with $3M in revenue and $125M in downstream value. + Externally validated science: We’ve been awarded $7M in non-dilutive grant funding for platform and program development.
Abalone Bio develops activating antibodies to target hard-to-drug disease targets, focusing on functional activity rather than just binding. It uses a large-scale assay approach and AI-powered design to create target-activating antibodies, starting with GPCR targets to drive therapies with potential fewer side effects.
The company runs Functional Antibody Selection Technology (FAST) to rapidly generate antibody activators that modulate challenging targets. It measures functional activity at scale by testing hundreds of millions of antibodies in parallel using engineered yeast cells linked to target-specific activity, enabling AI to predict and design activating antibodies, particularly for GPCRs, with a focus on achieving precise functional activation rather than mere binding.
Who it’s for: Pharmaceutical/biotech companies and research organizations seeking novel activating antibodies for hard-to-drug targets, especially GPCR targets in diseases affecting large patient populations.
Hiring and partnerships with top drug companies; leadership and advisory board details; media features indicate traction and recognition
Rich has been in or around biotech startups since 2008, when co-founded GPB, an algae biofuel startup. He was also Scientific and Operations Director at MBC Biolabs, the leading biotech incubator in SF, and Principal at Mission Bay Capital, a life science VC fund. Prior, he was an investigator at The Molecular Sciences Institute studying how cells process information. PhD (2000) Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale BA (1993) Biophysics and Computer Science (AI and Graphics), UC Berkeley
Formerly “Inc” · why startups rename →
We use AI to design antibodies for intractable diseases
Using CRISPR to find treatments for cancer and inflammation
