(Bloomberg) -- Paypal Holdings Inc. co-founder Peter Thiel and German entrepreneur Christian Angermayer have invested $35.4 million in Pittsburgh-based biotechnology company Peptilogics Inc.
Peptilogics researches and develops novel peptide-based therapeutics using a computational platform. Its lead candidate, dubbed PLG0206, is a novel anti-infective for the treatment of prosthetic joint infections and is in stage two clinical trials.
Jonathan Steckbeck, Peptilogics founder and chief executive officer, estimated that the market for anti-infectives is worth about $45 billion annually, though most of that is driven by generic drugs.
“Our innovative strategy is built to avoid generic competition,” Steckbeck said by email. “Each disease we are targeting with PLG0206 should support $1 billion to $2 billion in peak annual sales.”
Read more: Thiel-Backed Developer of Covid-19 Therapy Surges in Debut
A small percentage of patients undergoing hip or knee replacements suffer from post-operational infections for which no treatment exists. Peptilogics will use the new funds to expand its drug pipeline and computational platform, which finds connections in biomedical data to map peptide sequences, the company said in a statement.
Thiel and Angermayer have led financing rounds for similar companies including AbCellera Biologics Inc., Atai Life Sciences AG and Compass Pathways Plc.
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