PhoreMost

PhoreMost is a Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation therapies for diseases whose targets have long been considered undruggable. Spun out of the University of Cambridge's MRC Cancer Unit in 2014, the company was co-founded by Dr Chris Torrance, Professor Ashok Venkitaraman and Dr Grahame McKenzie. At its core is SITESEEKER, a proprietary phenotypic screening platform based on Protein Interference (PROTEINi) technology that can systematically unmask cryptic druggable sites across the entire human proteome — directly linking those sites to useful therapeutic functions in live-cell contexts.

PhoreMost's commercial model has two complementary strands: an internal drug discovery pipeline focused primarily on oncology and targeted protein degradation, and a portfolio of high-value research collaborations with pharmaceutical companies seeking to identify new targets in areas where their own discovery capabilities have been limited. The company's lead internal programme, targeting PLK1, is focused on glioma — a highly aggressive form of brain cancer with very limited treatment options — and is advancing towards clinical trials.

PhoreMost has raised over £46 million across three funding rounds: a £2.5 million seed round in 2015, an £11 million Series A in 2018, and an oversubscribed £33 million Series B in 2021 led by BGF. The Series B was one of the largest private raises in UK life sciences that year. The company relocated to a new state-of-the-art facility in South Cambridge in 2022 to support accelerated expansion, and has since continued to advance its SITESEEKER platform into new disease areas including targeted protein degradation.