Trilo Therapeutics

What Trilo Therapeutics does

Trilo Therapeutics is a privately held, preclinical-stage biotechnology company founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company is developing best-in-class peptide-drug conjugates intended to address the dose-limiting toxicity of current-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Its proprietary Trilomer® platform consists of mirror-image cyclic peptides constructed from 100% D-amino acids, which provide inherent protease resistance, reduced renal uptake by scavenger receptors, and non-immunogenic properties relative to natural L-peptides and full-length antibodies. The platform enables rapid tumor penetration due to small molecular size (under 6 kDa for bivalent binder plus payload) and supports bivalent or biparatopic formats for enhanced target binding and internalization.

The company's core technology includes the Trilomer® Discovery Platform, which uses proprietary long-chain DNA-encoded chemical libraries enabling the synthesis and screening of hundreds of millions to billions of macrocyclized D-peptide candidates in a single tube, surpassing the residue-length limitations of conventional DNA-encoded libraries. Trilo's pipeline targets four clinically validated ADC antigens — HER2, cMET, DLL3, and PTK7 — with the strategic intent of reducing clinical development risk by leveraging established cancer targets. Trilo holds a registered trademark on the Trilomer® brand and the management team and advisors collectively hold over 100 issued US patents across ADC development, DEL construction, D-peptide therapeutics, and chemical synthesis.

Trilo is pre-commercial and pre-revenue, with no disclosed pharmaceutical licensing or co-development agreements. Its capital base is built from an NSF SBIR grant (2019), two undisclosed funding rounds (December 2020: $700,000; December 2022: $1,700,000), and non-dilutive in-kind support from three sequential pharma Golden Ticket Awards (AbbVie 2019, Amgen 2020, Bristol-Myers Squibb 2023 finalist). The intended monetization path is licensing, co-development, and eventual commercialization of Trilomer-based therapeutics with pharmaceutical partners. The headcount is 1-10 employees, with leadership combining large-pharma business development experience (Pierre Pujol, former GSK Group VP) and prior ADC clinical translation experience (Kurt Gish led two ADCs to Phase I).

Name

Trilo Therapeutics

Legal name

Trilo Therapeutics, Inc.

Website

https://trilotherapeutics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Trilo Therapeutics is a preclinical San Francisco-based biotech developing Trilomer® mirror-image D-amino acid cyclic peptides as drug conjugates targeting HER2, cMET, DLL3, and PTK7 for cancer therapy, monetizing through pharma licensing and co-development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Peptide-Drug Conjugates / 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 industries

Library & Diversity Generation Platforms (display libraries, DNA-encoded libraries for biologics, variant libraries) (HLAAAIAL), Engineered Protein Therapeutics (de novo/AI-designed proteins, novel scaffolds) (HLAAAAAJ)

Keywords

• Peptide drug conjugates
• Antibody drug conjugates
• Mirror image peptides
• DNA encoded libraries
• Oncology therapeutics

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Drug Development and Licensing: Pre-revenue biotech company. Expected revenue through licensing agreements, co-development partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, and eventual commercialization of Trilomer-based therapeutics. Company is in active preclinical development against established ADC targets including HER2, cMET, DLL3, and PTK7.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Trilo Therapeutics develops the Trilomer® platform of mirror-image cyclic peptide drug conjugates built from 100% D-amino acids for the targeted delivery of chemotherapy and radiotheranostic payloads to cancer cells. The platform combines a proprietary long-chain DNA-encoded library discovery engine with macrocyclized D-peptide therapeutics designed to overcome the limitations of traditional antibody-drug conjugates (poor tumor penetration, off-target toxicity) and L-amino acid peptides (protease degradation, renal scavenger recycling). The company is conducting preclinical development against clinically validated cancer targets including HER2, cMET, DLL3, and PTK7.

Product overview

Trilo Therapeutics is a single-platform biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of innovative cancer treatments using its Trilomer® platform. The platform consists of the Trilomer® Discover Platform (DNA-encoded library technology for screening billions of D-peptide candidates) and Trilomer® Drug-Conjugates (mirror-image cyclic peptide therapeutics that deliver chemotherapy payloads directly to cancer cells). The platform leverages 100% D-amino acid chemistry for protease resistance and reduced renal uptake, enabling superior tumor penetration and reduced toxicity compared to traditional ADCs and peptide-drug conjugates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Trilomer®: The company's core platform technology of mirror-image cyclic peptides (peptidomimetics) that enable targeted delivery of potent chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatment. Trilomer® drug-conjugates use 100% D-amino acids for protease resistance and reduced renal uptake.

Products and services

• Trilomer® Discover Platform A DNA-encoded chemical library platform that synthesizes and screens hundreds of millions of macrocyclized D-peptide candidates for mirror-image cyclic peptides in a single tube, far exceeding the residue and structural limits of conventional DELs, peptidomimetic libraries, and phage/ribosome display techniques. Used internally by Trilo Therapeutics to discover candidates for the company's targeted cancer therapy pipeline.
• Trilomer® Drug-Conjugates Mirror-image cyclic peptide drug conjugates built from 100% D-amino acids that rapidly penetrate tumors, bind specifically to cell-surface cancer proteins, are internalized to release potent chemotherapy or radiotheranostic payloads inside cancer cells, and clear quickly through renal pathways to minimize toxicity to healthy tissues. Intended for partnering/licensing to pharmaceutical companies for clinical development and commercialization in oncology.

Quantifiable outcome

• Traditional ADCs deliver <2% of injected dose to tumor; Trilomer® design addresses this through rapid tumor penetration and reduced off-target metabolism
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Bicycle Therapeutics: Bicycle Therapeutics develops bicyclic peptide-drug conjugates using similar constrained peptide chemistry, including D-amino acid variants, and pursues targeted cancer therapy with toxin and radiotheranostic payloads. Most directly comparable peer given shared focus on synthetic constrained peptides for ADC-like applications.
• Mersana Therapeutics: Mersana develops next-generation ADCs with proprietary payload and linker technologies targeting HER2 and other validated oncology targets. Both companies pursue novel ADC approaches to address dose-limiting toxicity of existing antibody-drug conjugates.
• Ambrx Biopharma: Ambrx develops engineered antibody and peptide-drug conjugates with site-specific payload attachment, pursuing ADC improvements in oncology. Trilo's scientific advisor Alan Wahl previously worked at Ambrx, and the companies share focus on novel conjugation chemistry for cancer therapeutics.

Broad incumbents

• ImmunoGen: ImmunoGen is a pioneer and leader in ADC technology with multiple approved and clinical-stage products. As an established ADC developer, it represents the established paradigm Trilo's peptide-based approach aims to disrupt.
• Sutro Biopharma: Sutro Biopharma develops ADCs and other protein therapeutics using cell-free protein synthesis technology. Comparable as an established biotech with multiple clinical-stage ADC programs targeting validated cancer antigens.

Emerging players

• Pyxis Oncology: Pyxis Oncology develops antibody-drug conjugates and immunotherapies targeting novel oncology antigens. Both companies operate in the next-generation ADC space pursuing improved therapeutic indices over conventional conjugates.
• Araris Biotech: Araris Biotech develops peptide-linker based ADCs using a proprietary site-specific conjugation approach. Comparable as a small biotech developing novel linker technology to improve ADC tolerability and efficacy.
• Heidelberg Pharma: Heidelberg Pharma develops ADCs using amanitin payload chemistry to address resistance to conventional ADC payloads. Comparable as a developer of next-generation ADC payloads targeting tumor-specific antigens.
• Bolt Biotherapeutics: Bolt Biotherapeutics develops immune-stimulating ADCs combining tumor-targeting with immune activation. Both companies target validated cancer antigens with novel linker/payload approaches aiming for improved therapeutic windows.
• PeptiDream: PeptiDream operates a peptide discovery and development platform including constrained and non-natural amino acid peptides for therapeutic applications. Comparable as a peptide-based therapeutic platform pursuing targeted cancer therapies and partnerships with major pharma.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

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 Trilo Therapeutics