Orthogon Therapeutics

Orthogon Therapeutics is a private, preclinical-stage biotech pioneering first-in-class antiviral therapies for polyomaviruses, a large family of ubiquitous viruses with no approved treatments. The company's core innovation is a drug discovery platform that precisely maps and targets protein-protein interactions, enabling the development of oral drugs against unconventional viral targets. With a leadership team experienced in antiviral drug discovery and startup exits, Orthogon has secured at least $14 million in funding to advance its lead program for BK virus in transplant patients while exploring broader applications in oncology and other diseases.

Integrated drug discovery platform combining precise 3D atomic mapping of protein-protein interactions, privileged compound libraries, characterization of interaction kinetics/thermodynamics, and experimentally directed machine learning/AI to target challenging protein-protein interfaces.

There are currently no FDA-approved antiviral drugs for polyomaviruses, giving Orthogon a potential first-mover advantage. Competition may emerge from large antiviral-focused pharma (e.g., Gilead, Merck) or alternative modalities like T-cell therapies. In the broader PPI space, numerous biotechs are pursuing similar challenging targets, creating a competitive landscape for platform validation and partnerships.