Molecular Templates
Molecular Templates was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered therapeutic compounds for oncology; headquartered in Austin, TX, it was publicly traded on Nasdaq (MTEM) but never commercialized an approved product and has ceased operations.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Molecular Templates does
Molecular Templates, Inc. was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic compounds for cancer and other serious diseases, with operations historically based in Austin, Texas and a public listing on Nasdaq under the ticker MTEM. The company's focus was oncology, addressing treatment needs for oncology patients through proprietary technology platforms for targeted cancer therapeutics; its customer segment was effectively the oncology/hospital use case, though the company never commercialized any approved products and derived no product revenue. The business model relied entirely on external capital — successive private placements and PIPE financings from healthcare-dedicated investors (notably BVF Partners L.P., BB Biotech AG, Santé, Longitude Capital, Perceptive Advisors, Takeda, and Frazier Healthcare Partners) — to fund ongoing clinical studies, working capital, and general corporate purposes.
Over its operating life Molecular Templates raised cumulative equity financing of approximately $400 million across more than a dozen rounds from 2009 through 2024, executed one acquisition (Threshold Pharmaceuticals in 2017), and assembled a small executive team including a CEO/CSO, CMO, and President/COO. Despite this funding history, the company failed to bring a product to market, and by 2024 was trading at distressed levels on Nasdaq while facing delisting risk, implementing staff cuts, and pursuing strategic alternatives. The company subsequently ceased operations, with its current website explicitly stating that Molecular Templates is no longer operating and routing any inquiries to a third-party contact email in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
Molecular Templates firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Molecular Templates
- Legal name
- Molecular Templates, Inc.
- Website
- https://mtem.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Molecular Templates was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered therapeutic compounds for oncology; headquartered in Austin, TX, it was publicly traded on Nasdaq (MTEM) but never commercialized an approved product and has ceased operations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Molecular Templates industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Clinical-Stage Oncology Biopharmaceuticals
- NAICS
- Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (32541)
- SIC
- Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Engineered Protein Therapeutics (de novo/AI-designed proteins, novel scaffolds) (HLAAAAAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Protein Engineering & Directed Evolution Platforms (enzyme/therapeutic protein optimization) (HLAAAIAC), Library & Diversity Generation Platforms (display libraries, DNA-encoded libraries for biologics, variant libraries) (HLAAAIAL)
Keywords
Where Molecular Templates is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Molecular Templates business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Molecular Templates product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Molecular Templates was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic compounds for cancer and other serious diseases. The company had no approved products and was pursuing strategic alternatives prior to ceasing operations in 2024. Its activities centered on proprietary technology platforms intended to generate targeted oncology therapeutics.
Product overview
Molecular Templates, Inc. was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology. The company is no longer operating (as stated on their website). No active products, services, or product portfolio information is available in the source data.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Companies that use Molecular Templates
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Molecular Templates technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Molecular Templates partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Molecular Templates competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Bolt Biotherapeutics: Clinical-stage oncology biotech developing engineered protein-based immunotherapies; comparable in development stage, modality (engineered biologic), and oncology focus to MTEM's platform.
- CytomX Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech engineering masked, targeted protein therapeutics for oncology; highly comparable platform-approach to MTEM's engineered toxin body strategy.
- Mersana Therapeutics: Clinical-stage oncology company developing engineered antibody-drug conjugates and protein therapeutics; similar stage, modality, and oncology indication focus.
- Genmab: Biotech specializing in engineered antibody and protein therapeutics for oncology and serious diseases; comparable modality and therapeutic focus as MTEM.
- Heat Biologics: Clinical-stage oncology biotech developing protein-based immunotherapies; similar development stage and oncology focus as MTEM.
Broad incumbents
- ImmunoGen (AbbVie): Established biotech developing engineered antibody-based cancer therapeutics; comparable oncology biologics platform at commercial scale (now part of AbbVie).
- Amgen: Large biotechnology company with a broad portfolio of engineered protein therapeutics in oncology; overlaps with MTEM's modality at significantly larger scale.
- Genentech (Roche): Major oncology biologics developer with deep portfolio of engineered antibody and protein therapeutics; broadly comparable as a leading player in MTEM's target space.
- Bristol-Myers Squibb: Major pharmaceutical company with significant oncology biologics franchise; comparable end-market and therapeutic protein modality, though vastly larger and more diversified.
Emerging players
- Codexis: Protein engineering company applying directed evolution to therapeutic enzymes and proteins; overlapping platform technology with MTEM's protein engineering approach.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights4 records
Customer concentration
Molecular Templates social profiles
Digital presenceMolecular Templates financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Molecular Templates leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Molecular Templates funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds17 records
Investors13 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Molecular Templates M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Molecular Templates
What does Molecular Templates do?
Molecular Templates was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic compounds for cancer and other serious diseases. The company had no approved products and was pursuing strategic alternatives prior to ceasing operations in 2024. Its activities centered on proprietary technology platforms intended to generate targeted oncology therapeutics.
Is Molecular Templates a public or private company?
Molecular Templates is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently closed.
When was Molecular Templates founded?
Molecular Templates was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Molecular Templates based?
Molecular Templates is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Molecular Templates's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Bolt Biotherapeutics, CytomX Therapeutics, Mersana Therapeutics, Genmab and Heat Biologics. Broad incumbents are ImmunoGen (AbbVie), Amgen, Genentech (Roche) and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Codexis is listed as an emerging player.
Does Molecular Templates have an API?
No public API is recorded for Molecular Templates.
What industry is Molecular Templates in?
Molecular Templates's product category is Clinical-Stage Oncology Biopharmaceuticals. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAAAAJ, Engineered Protein Therapeutics (de novo/AI-designed proteins, novel scaffolds), with a secondary code of HLAAAIAC, Protein Engineering & Directed Evolution Platforms (enzyme/therapeutic protein optimization). Its NAICS code is 325414 and its SIC code is 2836.