ProteinQure
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersToronto, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
ProteinQure firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ProteinQure
- Legal name
- ProteinQure Inc.
- Website
- https://proteinqure.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ProteinQure industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Computational Peptide Therapeutics & Drug Discovery Platform
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)
- SIC
- Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Engineered Protein Therapeutics (de novo/AI-designed proteins, novel scaffolds) (HLAAAAAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Therapeutic Peptides & Protein/Peptide Biologics (HLAAAAAH), Protein Engineering & Directed Evolution Platforms (enzyme/therapeutic protein optimization) (HLAAAIAC), AI/ML-Enabled Biologic Discovery Platforms (computational design, in silico screening) (HLAAAIAE), Target Identification & Validation Platforms (omics-driven, chemoproteomics, genetic validation) (HLAAAIAI), Antibody Discovery & Engineering Platforms (display tech, bispecifics, Fc engineering) (HLAAAIAB), In Vivo Discovery & Translational Models Platforms (humanized models, PK/PD, efficacy) (HLAAAIAK), Library & Diversity Generation Platforms (display libraries, DNA-encoded libraries for biologics, variant libraries) (HLAAAIAL)
Keywords
Where ProteinQure is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Toronto
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
ProteinQure business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Pharma Collaboration & Partnership Revenue: Quoted/scope-based partnerships with pharmaceutical companies structured around lead optimization, AI-guided library design, and de novo peptide design. Company has historically disclosed that partnerships represented about 50% of its work, with pharma BD/strategy relationships including AstraZeneca, Daiichi Sankyo, NeuroDerm, Pioneering Medicines, Twist Bioscience, and Johnson & Johnson.
- Non-Dilutive Grant Funding: Receipt of non-dilutive funding from Canadian government programs, including FedDev Ontario ($1.8M in May 2026), Genome Canada / Ontario Genomics (~$2.5M in April 2026), National Research Council of Canada IRAP, Ontario Center for Innovation (OCI), and the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP). These fund internal drug discovery projects.
- Equity Financing (Pre-Commercial): Clinical-stage company with no product revenue; capitalization is driven by equity rounds (e.g., $4M seed in 2019, $11M Series A in May 2025, totaling $16M) intended to fund PQ203 Phase 1 trial and pipeline expansion in neurology and nephrology.
Go-to-market motion2 records
ProteinQure product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ProteinQure designs AI-engineered peptide-based therapeutics and targeted drug-delivery systems using its proprietary ProteinStudio™ computational platform, which integrates machine learning, structural biology, and petascale molecular simulations to create de novo peptides and peptide-drug conjugates incorporating non-natural amino acids. The company offers three core partnership tracks to pharmaceutical companies—Lead Optimization, AI-Guided Library Design, and De Novo Peptide Design—and is independently advancing a clinical-stage pipeline led by PQ203, a SORT1-targeting peptide-drug conjugate currently in Phase I trials for advanced solid tumors including triple-negative breast cancer.
Product overview
ProteinQure operates a platform-plus-pipeline architecture: a single proprietary computational platform called ProteinStudio™ sits at the core and powers both internal pipeline assets and partnered drug discovery programs. Built on ProteinStudio are multiple therapeutic products spanning tissue-specific delivery, including the lead clinical-stage peptide-drug conjugate PQ203 (Phase I for advanced solid tumors including triple-negative breast cancer), the SORT1 Delivery System as a modular targeted-delivery technology, a preclinical peptide-siRNA conjugate program for glioblastoma multiforme, and a BBB Shuttle peptide conjugate program. ProteinStudio also underpins PQ Librarian, a public-facing AI-driven peptide library scoring tool, and supports partnered programs with companies such as AstraZeneca, Daiichi Sankyo, NeuroDerm, Pioneering Medicines, Twist Bioscience, and Johnson & Johnson across lead optimization, AI-guided library design, and de novo peptide design.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ProteinStudio™: Proprietary computational platform integrating machine learning, structural biology, and atomic-level simulations to design therapeutic peptides using thousands of non-natural amino acids for tissue-specific delivery and access to novel target classes.
Products and services
- ProteinStudio™ ProteinQure's proprietary integrated computational platform combining machine learning, structural biology, and atomic-level molecular simulations on petascale supercomputers. Designs de novo peptides and peptide-drug conjugates across a chemical space of thousands of non-natural amino acids and supports lead optimization, AI-guided library design, and de novo peptide design for therapeutic payload delivery. Used internally for ProteinQure's pipeline and externally to deliver partnership engagements with global biopharmaceutical companies.
- PQ203 First-in-class AI-designed peptide-drug conjugate composed of a Sortilin (SORT1)-targeting peptide conjugated to the cytotoxic payload MMAE. Currently in a Phase I clinical trial (NCT07190469) in Canada and the United States for advanced solid tumors, including triple-negative breast cancer; granted FDA Fast Track designation. Designed via ProteinStudio™ and validated in 17+ in vivo models.
- SORT1 Delivery System Computationally designed, high-affinity SORT1-targeting peptides used as a modular delivery platform for SORT1-overexpressing tumors (including TNBC, colon, and ovarian cancer). Enables receptor-mediated internalization and lysosomal delivery of cytotoxic agents, radioisotopes, and oligonucleotides via peptide-drug, peptide-radioisotope, and peptide-oligonucleotide conjugates.
- PQ Librarian AI-driven peptide library scoring tool that combines Large Language Models with predictive neural networks trained on peptide-receptor interaction data. Accepts a target protein antigen sequence and outputs color-coded hit-potential scores (green/yellow/red) for ProteinQure's proprietary and standard peptide libraries. Validated on 20+ proprietary targets.
Companies that use ProteinQure
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles2 records
ProteinQure technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability7 records
ProteinQure partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
ProteinQure competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- PeptiDream: Japanese peptide discovery company operating a platform for identifying non-standard peptide therapeutics against a wide range of targets, with multiple pharma partnerships — directly comparable in peptide-platform-plus-partnership business model.
- Insitro: AI-driven drug discovery company combining machine learning, high-throughput biology, and pharma partnerships to advance internal and partnered programs — directly comparable AI-for-drug-discovery positioning.
- Recursion: Techbio company combining high-throughput experimentation, automation, and AI to discover and develop novel therapeutics at scale — directly comparable as an AI-native drug discovery platform.
- Bicycle Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing bicyclic peptide-drug conjugates and other targeted therapeutics using computationally designed peptides. Most direct comparable given shared PDC modality, oncology focus, and platform-plus-pipeline architecture.
Emerging players
- Generate Biomedicines: AI-first generative biology company designing novel proteins and peptides de novo using machine learning. Comparable in combining generative AI with protein/peptide therapeutic design, though with broader scope.
- Cradle Bio: AI protein engineering company using generative models to design novel proteins and biologics — closely comparable in applying generative AI to protein/peptide design with a partnership-oriented GTM.
- Entos Pharmaceuticals: AI-driven biotech developing nucleic acid and protein therapeutics using a generative molecular design platform — comparable as an AI-driven preclinical/early-clinical biotech with similar modality breadth.
- Nabla Bio: AI-first protein design company using generative models and high-throughput experimentation to engineer novel proteins, with a pharma partnership GTM — directly comparable in AI protein/peptide design with a partnership business model.
- Circle Pharma: Clinical-stage biotech developing macrocyclic peptide therapeutics against difficult-to-drug targets including oncology — comparable as a peptide-platform biotech with oncology focus and Edward Garmey's prior affiliation.
Broad incumbents
- Isomorphic Labs: Alphabet-backed AI drug discovery company applying deep learning to predict protein structures and design novel therapeutics. Comparable as a deep-tech AI-first drug design platform with substantially greater capital backing.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ProteinQure social profiles
Digital presenceProteinQure financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ProteinQure leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
ProteinQure funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds7 records
Investors11 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ProteinQure M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ProteinQure
What does ProteinQure do?
ProteinQure designs AI-engineered peptide-based therapeutics and targeted drug-delivery systems using its proprietary ProteinStudio™ computational platform, which integrates machine learning, structural biology, and petascale molecular simulations to create de novo peptides and peptide-drug conjugates incorporating non-natural amino acids. The company offers three core partnership tracks to pharmaceutical companies—Lead Optimization, AI-Guided Library Design, and De Novo Peptide Design—and is independently advancing a clinical-stage pipeline led by PQ203, a SORT1-targeting peptide-drug conjugate currently in Phase I trials for advanced solid tumors including triple-negative breast cancer.
Is ProteinQure a public or private company?
ProteinQure is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was ProteinQure founded?
ProteinQure was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ProteinQure based?
ProteinQure is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, in the North America region.
How does ProteinQure make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Pharma Collaboration & Partnership Revenue is the primary driver. The others are non-Dilutive Grant Funding and equity Financing (Pre-Commercial).
Who are ProteinQure's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are PeptiDream, Insitro, Recursion and Bicycle Therapeutics. Emerging players are Generate Biomedicines, Cradle Bio, Entos Pharmaceuticals, Nabla Bio and Circle Pharma. Isomorphic Labs is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does ProteinQure have an API?
No public API is recorded for ProteinQure.
What industry is ProteinQure in?
ProteinQure's product category is Computational Peptide Therapeutics & Drug Discovery Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAAAAJ, Engineered Protein Therapeutics (de novo/AI-designed proteins, novel scaffolds), with a secondary code of HLAAAAAH, Therapeutic Peptides & Protein/Peptide Biologics. Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 2836.