What Sapience Therapeutics does

Sapience Therapeutics is a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company developing peptide-based therapeutics that target protein-protein interactions historically considered undruggable in oncology. The company's core technology is built on two proprietary platforms: SPEARs™, which produces cell-penetrating peptides that act inside cancer cells to modulate intracellular protein-protein interactions, and SPARCs™, which produces peptides acting on the cell surface to address extracellular protein-protein interactions. Its pipeline is led by lucicebtide (formerly ST101), a first-in-class C/EBPβ antagonist in Phase 2 trials for glioblastoma, melanoma, breast cancer, and prostate cancer, alongside ST316, a first-in-class β-catenin antagonist in Phase 1/2 for colorectal cancer and an exploratory familial adenomatous polyposis program, plus an earlier-stage FraAP preclinical program. Sapience holds exclusive licenses on foundational IP from Columbia University and has accumulated multiple FDA designations including Orphan Drug status for glioma and FAP, two Fast Track Designations for lucicebtide, and EU Orphan Medicinal Product Designation.

The company is pre-revenue and has financed operations through approximately $77.5 million in private capital across a $22.5M Series A (2016), a $14M preferred stock financing (2020), and a $41M Series B (2022), plus non-dilutive SBIR grants. Strategic and financial investors include Eshelman Ventures, Celgene, TaiAn Technologies, Healthlink Capital, Bristol Myers Squibb (which holds a board observer seat), NexPoint (Series B lead), and Kingdon Capital. Operating with 1–10 employees from offices in Harrison and Tarrytown, New York, the company conducts clinical trials in the United States and the United Kingdom, markets through scientific and investor channels rather than direct sales, and plans to distribute any approved products via specialty pharmacies and oncology treatment centers.

Name

Sapience Therapeutics

Legal name

Sapience Therapeutics, Inc.

Website

https://sapiencetherapeutics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sapience Therapeutics is a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company developing peptide therapeutics that target traditionally undruggable protein-protein interactions in cancer, with two Phase 2 assets (lucicebtide for glioblastoma and ST316 for colorectal cancer) and additional orphan and rare-disease programs in development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oncology Therapeutics

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Therapeutic Peptides & Protein/Peptide Biologics (HLAAAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Protein Interaction & Structural Biology Platforms (cryo-EM, X-ray, NMR, biophysics) (HLAAAIAH)

Keywords

• Peptide therapeutics
• Oncology drug development
• Cancer therapeutics
• Protein-protein interactions
• Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical

Headquarters

HQ city

Scarsdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical Product Sales: Pre-revenue clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Revenue will be generated from sales of novel peptide therapeutics for cancer treatment upon regulatory approval. The company is focused on developing a pipeline of clinical candidates targeting previously 'undruggable' protein-protein interactions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sapience Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing peptide therapeutics that target traditionally 'undruggable' protein-protein interactions in cancer. The company leverages two proprietary platforms—SPEARs™ (intracellular-acting peptides) and SPARCs™ (extracellular-acting peptides)—to advance lead drug candidates including Lucicebtide (formerly ST101), a C/EBPβ antagonist in Phase 2 trials, and ST316, a β-catenin antagonist in Phase 1/2 trials, for glioblastoma, melanoma, colorectal cancer and other solid tumors.

Product overview

Sapience Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing peptide therapeutics for hard-to-treat cancers. The company operates two proprietary technology platforms: SPEARs™ (intracellular-acting peptides) and SPARCs™ (extracellular-acting peptides). The lead clinical programs are Lucicebtide (formerly ST101), a C/EBPβ antagonist in Phase 2 trials for glioblastoma and other solid tumors, and ST316, a β-catenin antagonist in Phase 1/2 for colorectal cancer. The company also has a FraAP program in preclinical development. All programs leverage peptide therapeutics to target previously 'undruggable' protein-protein interactions in cancer cells.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SPEARs™: Peptide therapeutics that act inside cancer cells, targeting intracellular protein-protein interactions
• SPARCs™
• Lucicebtide

Products and services

• Lucicebtide (formerly ST101) A first-in-class peptide antagonist of C/EBPβ transcription factor currently in Phase 2 clinical trials for glioblastoma, melanoma, breast cancer, and prostate cancer; designed to disrupt transcription factor activity in cancer cells while sparing normal cells.
• ST316 A first-in-class β-catenin antagonist peptide in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for colorectal cancer and familial adenomatous polyposis; disrupts the BCL9/β-catenin interaction to suppress Wnt target genes regulating tumor proliferation and metastasis.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Sapience Therapeutics was selected as the winner of the JLABS NYC QuickFire Challenge in 2019, receiving recognition and support from Johnson & Johnson Innovation's JLABS incubator program for its innovative approach to peptide therapeutics.
• Columbia UniversitycoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerExclusive license agreement with Columbia University for ST-36, an EGFR-targeting peptide therapeutic. This partnership provides access to a validated oncology target through proprietary technology developed at the university.
• National Cancer Institute (NCI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with the National Cancer Institute for the development of ST101, a C/EBPβ antagonist in Phase 1/2 clinical trials. NCI collaboration provides access to government research resources and expertise.
• University of BathminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDrug discovery collaboration with the University of Bath focused on the development of novel peptide therapeutics for cancer treatment.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mirati Therapeutics: Targeted oncology biotech acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2024. Relevant as both a BMS-affiliated oncology peer (Sapience's largest pharma investor is BMS) and as a representative of value-creation and exit pathways for clinical-stage targeted oncology companies.
• Forma Therapeutics: Clinical-stage oncology and rare-disease biotech (acquired by Novo Nordisk in 2022) developing small molecules against challenging protein-protein interactions — thematically aligned with Sapience's PPI-targeting thesis and comparable in stage at time of acquisition.
• Karyopharm Therapeutics: Commercial-stage oncology company with multiple targeted programs including XPO1 inhibitors. While broader and more advanced than Sapience, useful as a peer for the 'targeted oncology biotech' valuation reference and clinical-development pathway comparison.

Direct peers

• Bicycle Therapeutics: Clinical-stage company developing bicyclic peptide therapeutics (Bicycles®) for oncology, with multiple programs in Phase 1/2. Most directly comparable to Sapience in terms of using constrained peptide chemistry to drug PPIs and oncology targets that traditional modalities cannot address.
• Aprea Therapeutics: Clinical-stage oncology biotech developing small-molecule therapies for cancer, with a comparable stage profile and US East Coast base. Aprea's CEO Christian S. Schade also serves on Sapience's board, reflecting overlap in investor networks and stage.
• Day One Biopharmaceuticals: Clinical-stage pediatric and adult oncology biotech with a Phase 2 lead asset targeting a defined genomic driver — comparable in development stage, regulatory strategy (including breakthrough designations), and oncology focus.
• Aileron Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing stabilized peptide therapeutics (stapled peptides) to target intracellular PPIs in cancer — comparable to Sapience's SPEARs platform in both modality and target class.
• Cybrexa Therapeutics: Clinical-stage oncology biotech developing peptide drug conjugates (PDCs) that target tumor-specific environments. Comparable to Sapience in peptide-based modality and oncology focus, with Phase 1/2 assets in solid tumors.
• Oncopeptides: Oncology company developing peptide-based therapeutics, including melflufen (Pepaxto), a peptidase-enhanced peptide conjugate for multiple myeloma. Directly comparable in using peptides as a therapeutic modality in oncology.
• FogPharma: Clinical-stage biotech developing cell-penetrating miniproteins (Helicons™) to drug intracellular protein-protein interactions in cancer — directly parallel to Sapience's SPEARs platform approach of targeting 'undruggable' intracellular PPIs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sapience-therapeutics-inc-

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sapience Therapeutics