What Dracen Pharmaceuticals does

Dracen Pharmaceuticals is a privately-held biotechnology company developing novel glutamine antagonists intended to improve outcomes for cancer patients. The company's scientific premise is metabolic targeting of glutamine metabolism, a pathway heavily relied upon by proliferating tumor cells. Dracen was founded in 2016, is incorporated in Delaware, and operates with headquarters in New York; firmographic data also lists Baltimore, indicating either a secondary presence or a discrepancy in disclosed locations. Headcount is reported at 1-10 employees, consistent with an early-stage, founder-led biotech operating without commercial revenue.

The company's website currently displays only a verification/placeholder page, and no specific pipeline assets, candidate molecules, development stages, or modality details are disclosed in available public sources. As a result, the depth and stage of the glutamine antagonist program cannot be verified from open materials. No clinical readouts, partnership announcements, licensing deals, or product launches have been surfaced.

Dracen's capital formation is documented through three financings: a $40 million round in March 2018 led by Deerfield with participation from i&i Prague and Osage University Partners; a $17 million SEC Form D exempt offering in November 2021 (~$8.6M sold); and a $2.785 million SEC Form D offering in August 2023 (~$2.285M sold). The two Form D filings in 2021 and 2023 confirm Delaware incorporation, an operating status, and the absence of disclosed product revenue, consistent with a pre-commercial biotech whose outlays are funded by periodic equity and securities issuances rather than operating cash flow. Leadership consists of Scientific Founder Jonathan Powell and President & CEO Tom Estok.

Name

Dracen Pharmaceuticals

Legal name

Dracen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Website

https://dracenpharma.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Dracen Pharmaceuticals is a privately-held biotechnology company developing novel glutamine antagonists for cancer treatment. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in New York, the company is backed by Deerfield and other life-sciences investors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oncology Pharmaceuticals

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Care Pharmaceuticals (HLAIAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Translational Medicine & Biomarkers (HLAIALAF)

Keywords

• Glutamine antagonists
• Oncology drug development
• Cancer therapeutics
• Metabolic cancer therapy
• Biopharmaceutical research

Headquarters

HQ city

Baltimore

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

Core offering

Dracen Pharmaceuticals develops novel glutamine antagonists designed to deliver improved outcomes for cancer patients by targeting the metabolic dependencies of tumor cells. The company is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm advancing a pipeline of small-molecule oncology drugs based on its proprietary glutamine antagonist platform.

Product overview

No product and services information is available from the provided sources. Dracen Pharmaceuticals is identified as a Delaware corporation focused on biotechnology-related activities based on SEC Form D filings. The company website (d racenpharma.com) displays only a verification/placeholder page, preventing extraction of product portfolio details.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Glutamine Antagonist Oncology Drug Candidates Proprietary glutamine antagonist small-molecule drug candidates designed to disrupt tumor metabolism and deliver improved outcomes for cancer patients with glutamine-dependent tumors. Intended for oncology treatment centers and hospital oncology departments once commercialized.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Bristol-Myers Squibb (Celgene legacy): BMS operates one of the largest oncology franchises globally and has historically been an active acquirer of differentiated oncology metabolism assets. Relevant as a potential strategic acquirer of Dracen's glutamine antagonist program.
• Agios Pharmaceuticals: Agios is the established leader in cancer cell metabolism (Tibsovo, IDHIFA, vorasidenib), operating across multiple metabolic targets. While broader than Dracen's glutamine focus, it is the most relevant incumbent in oncology metabolism and a likely strategic acquirer of differentiated programs.

Emerging players

• SOTIO Biotech: SOTIO develops novel cancer immunotherapies and metabolism-related oncology programs. Comparable as a small emerging oncology developer pursuing differentiated mechanisms.
• Repare Therapeutics: Repare develops synthetic lethality-based oncology therapies, including programs targeting DNA damage response and metabolism-adjacent pathways. Comparable as a small-cap oncology developer with a mechanistically driven approach.
• Zentalis Pharmaceuticals: Zentalis develops oncology therapies targeting cancer cell biology pathways, including metabolism-adjacent programs. Comparable as an emerging clinical-stage oncology developer with similar scale and a similar target-class focus.

Direct peers

• Calithera Biosciences: Calithera developed CB-839 (telaglenastat), a glutaminase inhibitor for cancer — the most directly comparable glutamine-pathway oncology program to Dracen's glutamine antagonists, targeting the same metabolic vulnerability in tumors.
• Tyme Technologies: Tyme developed SM-88 (racemetyrosine), a cancer metabolism approach targeting altered metabolic pathways in tumors. Comparable as a small oncology company pursuing a metabolism-based therapeutic mechanism.
• Forma Therapeutics: Forma Therapeutics developed multiple programs targeting cancer metabolism and DNA damage response, including programs against glutamine-related pathways. Comparable as a small-cap focused oncology metabolism developer with a similar target-class approach.
• Polaris Pharmaceuticals: Polaris Pharmaceuticals focuses on cancer metabolism and novel mechanisms for oncology, including programs targeting glutamine-related pathways. Comparable as a small oncology company operating in the same metabolic niche.
• Infinity Pharmaceuticals: Infinity Pharmaceuticals developed cancer metabolism and immuno-oncology programs, including Eganelisib. Directly comparable as a small-cap clinical-stage oncology company with metabolism-adjacent assets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors3 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 Dracen Pharmaceuticals