A Madison startup developing a way to reduce the time it takes to bring medicines to market — which could significantly mitigate the next big pandemic — has received a $2.3 million investment to move into a larger space.
Immuto Scientific, founded in 2018, has created a quicker, cheaper and more precise method to map out the structures of proteins, which can help develop treatments for cancer as well as pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, said startup co-founder and CEO Faraz Choudhury.
Traditional methods for analyzing proteins are complex and take up to a year, and the process of making drugs that actually reach the market can span a decade. But customers using the Immuto method can get an accurate snapshot of a protein in two to three weeks, he said.
Choudhury
That small window of time is enough to greatly influence patient recovery outcomes, and curtail the millions of dollars businesses pour into protein analysis alone, Choudhury said.
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The startup is located at University Research Park on Madison’s West Side, but soon plans to move into a 2,000-square-foot space near the Dane County Regional Airport, which would allow for more research capabilities and the hiring of additional employees.
The company currently has two full-time and two part-time staff members, Choudhury said.
Knowing what a protein looks like, as well as having its image available in a short amount of time, helps pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms and other Immuto clients speed up the early stages of their drug development process, he explained, called the “discovery” period.
For various therapies, that involves studying a protein’s structure to determine its function — how it might bind to its “target,” Choudhury said.
An example of a protein is an antibody — you have to make sure that antibody is attacking the right disease or cancerous human cell, explained Choudhury, who is originally from Bangladesh, and received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from UW-Madison in 2017.
Immuto co-founder and chief technology officer Daniel Benjamin demonstrated the startup’s protein analysis method last week.
It differs from the traditional methods that freeze proteins inside crystal structures, Choudhury said, in that it provides a more accurate image, takes less time and is cheaper for companies.
“Freezing the proteins is extremely complicated,” he said, adding the method can cost up to $400 million dollars for businesses and can hinder the accuracy of an analysis. “It takes a lot of trial and error even for experts who do it all the time.”
Instead of freezing the protein, which can make the protein shrivel up, Benjamin said it is put into a solution where it is “painted” with a reactive molecule that binds to its surface.
The painted protein is then put into a machine that detects where the molecules are. From there, the machine feeds data to a computer with software that renders a 3D model of the protein on a screen.
Depending on what drug you’re researching, Benjamin said, you are able not only to see the protein, but also where it binds to its target.
Since going commercial in 2021, several companies have purchased Immuto’s product.
Several investors have teamed up to provide the startup with funding as well.
Wisconsin Investment Partners led the $2.3 million financing round, along with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and five other investors around the state and nation.
Daniel Benjamin, front, and Faraz Choudhury, co-founders of Immuto Scientific, talk about the process of analyzing proteins using a machine ca…
The company also had a lot of support during its research and development phase, which started in 2018.
That’s despite having to network with over 200 pharmaceutical customers to understand how they operate, Choudhury said.
Several regional and national accelerator programs are what the co-founder credits for launching, including gener8tor’s free gBETA, UW-Madison’s Discovery to Product and the Madworks Seed Accelerator. Accelerators are fixed-term, cohort-based programs that help startups meet their business goals.
And through a collaboration between the UW-Madison Electrical Engineering — where Choudhury’s research started a half decade ago — and Biochemistry departments, Immuto received $1.4 million to develop its tech.
The pandemic underscored the importance of Immuto’s research, Choudhury said, adding “it really opened our eyes.”
That’s because if and when the next pathogen emerges, he said, companies might be better equipped to respond with a faster drug discovery process.
Photos: Community Pharmacy and Room of One's Own book store through the years
Community Pharmacy
Community Pharmacy on South Fair Oaks Avenue is adjacent to an apartment building and across the street from another.
Community Pharmacy
Technician Karen Solien helps a customer at the pharmacy counter in the new space on South Fair Oaks Avenue for Community Pharmacy. The business was founded in 1972 and is now housed in a brick building constructed in 1925 near Garver Feed Mill and a bike path.
A Room of One's Own
Customers browse the bookshelves at A Room of One's Own on Atwood Avenue.
A Room of One's Own
Sydne Conant organizes books in the front window of A Room of One's Own on Atwood Avenue. The store opened to walk-in traffic on Oct. 3 after closing to in-person shopping in March 2020.
Community Pharmacy
A vintage sign from the early days of Community Pharmacy is displayed on a wall of the store's new digs at 130 S. Fair Oaks Ave.
Community Pharmacy
Employee Kyah Fuller stocks the shelves at Community Pharmacy in Madison. Much of the shelving in the new space was salvaged from the former Downtown location.
A Room of One's Own
Misian Taylor arranges books at A Room of One's Own, 2717 Atwood Ave., which recently moved from Downtown, where the store had been a staple since the 1970s.
A Room of One's Own
A Room of One's Own opened to walk-in customers on Oct. 3 and has quickly become melded into its East Side neighborhood. The building was constructed in 1916 for the Madison Motor Car Co.
Community Pharmacy
Richard Kilmer, a pharmacist at Community Pharmacy, 341 State Street, helps a customer Monday. The 3,942-square-foot stores sells a wide range of prescriptions, herbs, supplements, body care and homeopathic remedies. Shoppers can even find greeting cards with the Beatles.
Community Pharmacy (copy)
Chicory Poppinoff, an herbalist at Community Pharmacy, is shown here in a 2016 photo. Products in the herbal department include Wisconsin-grown ginseng and elderflower; yarrow, wild yam and shea butter.
Community Pharmacy
Community Pharmacy, at State and West Gorham streets, has plans to move to the city's East Side after opening Downtown almost 50 years ago.
A Room of One's Own (copy)
The 46-year-old Room of One's Own bookstore has been in its current location near the corner of State and W. Gorham streets since 2011. On Monday, owners announced they'd signed a 20-year lease on 2717 Atwood Ave.
A Room of One's Own finds a buyer
Jes Lukes helps a customer at A Room of One's Own bookstore on Wednesday. Lukes, 30, is one of three people purchasing the beloved bookstore in Downtown Madison.
A Room of One's Own
David Harms, of Madison, browses through shelves of books at A Room of One's Own bookstore, 315 W. Gorham St. The store will be moving to the Atwood neighborhood on Madison's East Side.
A Room of One's Own finds a buyer
Anne Perrote, of Madison, a longtime customer of A Room of One's Own bookstore, tucks away purchases in her bicycle bag outside the book shop at 315 W. Gorham St., just a few yards off State Street. The store -- its motto "Eat, Sleep, Read" -- was founded in 1975 in a 2,000-square-foot space at 317 W. Johnson St. and in 1997 moved to a 3,000-square-foot space at 307 W. Johnson St. It doubled in size in 2011 when it moved to its current location next to Community Pharmacy and into space that had been home to Avol's Books after the closing of Canterbury Booksellers.
A Room of One's Own finds a buyer
Sandi Torkildson, right, co-owner of A Room of One’s Own bookstore, is selling the business to Gretchen Treu, who has worked at the store for the past 11 years, and two partners.
A Room of One's Own finds a buyer
After a nearly two-year process, A Room of One's Own bookstore, 315 W. Gorham St., is about to get new owners. Sandi Torkildson, who helped found the store in 1975, and Nancy Geary, have announced that an ownership group consisting of bookstore employees Gretchen Treu and Jes Lukes along with silent partner Patrick Rothfuss, an award-winning science fiction author from Stevens Point, will purchase the business on June 30. The store has 198,000 titles spread among 405,000 books of a variety of genres.
Room of One's Own
A bookstore can be a draw to not only locals but to visitors to the city. Edgar Francis of Stevens Point visited A Room of One’s Own bookstore in Madison last week.
Room of One's Own
A Room of One’s Own bookstore is located in space that at one time was home to Avol's Books and, prior to that, Canterbury Books.
Room of One's Own
Sandi Torkildson, co-owner and one of five original founders of A Room of One’s Own bookstore in Madison, has announced that she and business partner Nancy Geary are selling the store. It was founded in 1975 on West Johnson Street and now occupies 6,000 square feet at 315 W. Gorham St. near State Street.
Emilie Heidemann | Wisconsin State Journal
Emilie Heidemann is a multimedia journalist for the Wisconsin State Journal. She covers the economy and housing in the Madison area.
