Totus Medicines, a company focused on revolutionizing small molecule drug discovery and development using covalent libraries and AI tools, has closed a $66 million Series B financing round led by DCVC Bio. The company also announced the appointment of Nassim Usman, Ph.D., as President & Chief Executive Officer. Neil Dhawan, Ph.D., the co-founder, founding CEO, and CSO of Totus, will transition to a new role as CSO and Head of R&D.
Dr. Nassim Usman has an extensive background in the biopharmaceutical industry, including serving as President, CEO, and Board member at Catalyst Biosciences. His experience includes C-Suite management, venture capital investing, and board memberships in various private and public companies, such as Sirna Therapeutics (acquired by Merck) and Principia Biopharma (acquired by Sanofi). Dr. Usman’s expertise also includes advancing drugs into clinical development, executing licensing deals, and raising capital through private and public financings.
Totus Medicines aims to transform small molecule discovery using a novel DNA-encoded covalent library technology combined with AI/ML. The platform enables the screening of billions of drug candidates against thousands of targets simultaneously, offering the potential to discover drugs that are superior to those identified through previous technologies. The funding from the Series B round will be used to advance Totus’ clinical program, expand its pipeline, and evolve the platform.
Neil Dhawan expressed excitement about Dr. Usman joining Totus, citing his extensive drug development background and vision for the company’s platform. The funds raised will support Totus Medicines in advancing its clinical development pipeline, enhancing the platform, and expanding its drug discovery efforts. The company’s clinical program includes TOS-358, a covalent inhibitor of PI3Ka currently in the clinic.
