Dennis Sun

Cofounder of @dittobio, @ycombinator (W26) | prev: @berkeleyMCB @hscrb

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

Some news: excited to share that I'm building @dittobio with @AdairLBorges and @emilycpierce as part of the @ycombinator W26 batch!

We're discovering drugs for autoimmune disease by harnessing parasite biology.

Shout out @agupta for betting on us. 🔗 below:

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

If you’ve been looking for an Acquired equivalent for biotech, it has arrived and you too can listen below

[Alex Kesin @alexkesin]

Keytruda transformed cancer care and made Merck more money than any drug in history. It was also discovered by accident, and nearly out-licensed in 2010 for pocket change.

New Approved + exclusive interviews with the inventors and the Merck CMO who ran development:

[Endura Therapeutics @EnduraTx]

The genomics revolution told us which genes cause disease.

What if small molecules could target the genetic message? CRISPR-level precision, in a pill.

Endura Insights #1: why the genomics revolution is only half finished.

https://t.co/9dK9H0F1eL

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

@debesh @The_Termeer_Fdn Congrats Debesh! This is major!

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

@AdrianSanborn @EnduraTx Huge congrats Adrian!

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

Thrilled to be building with Pioneer!

[James Fong @jamesfong]

🧬 @dittobio is utilizing parasite strategies for developing breakthrough drugs for autoimmune disease. Why parasites? They've been running experiments on humans for millions of years being able to control the human immune system. Ditto is building an AI platform to identify drug-like proteins from these types of organisms which they then engineer into safe, effective therapeutics.

🦠 🪲 🪱 They are just getting started and have already analyzed over a million proteins across primate-infecting viruses, ticks, and parasitic worms. Initial discovery is looking promising!

@pioneer_fund is proud to back these three PhD scientists! Congratulations @AdairLBorges, @Mezarque, and @emilycpierce. Excited to partner with you!

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

@posthog @GoDaddy @AWSstartups @googlecloud also @Namecheap for being our DNS provider!

don't come at me for my tabs

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

Founder multitasking:
- listening to a talk on lipid nanoparticle-mediated immune tolerance…
- while stress-buying domain names and emailing cloud providers to kill a spoofed website.

At @dittobio we copy nature’s playbook to treat disease. 👯
Today, someone tried copying us.

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

shout out @posthog for helping us notice the spoofer and @GoDaddy @AWSstartups @googlecloud for helping us take them down!

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

We highlight how viruses can teach us to find drug targets and even design therapeutic molecules.

For example, viruses were the first to invent drugs like Enbrel (etanercept). (green: TNF; orange: etanercept; blue: a viral protein)

Reach out if you want to learn more!

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

It’s been an incredible 10 months of science at @dittobio, and I’m excited to share some of our progress in our first blog post.

Today, we're sharing our analysis mapping parasite proteins and human diseases they could treat.

https://t.co/B1nnAIoLQc

[Adair @AdairLBorges]

Finally got around to writing up some of our progress at @dittobio !

Check out our inaugural blog post to learn how my favorite parasites (aka viruses 😎) can improve target selection and discover blockbuster drug mechanisms for autoimmune disease:
https://t.co/XZ9FbCiNhR

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

I’m representing our team at @dittobio – we copy nature’s playbook to build novel therapeutics for autoimmune diseases.

If you’re in Boston and want to meet up, please reach out! I’m excited to talk about platforms, partnerships, and next-gen therapies for autoimmune disease.

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

My @ycombinator puffer is finally fulfilling its true purpose: keeping me warm in the dead of winter.

I’m in Boston this week for the Antigen-Specific Immune Tolerance Summit (https://t.co/t6VFdHYpNe)!

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

This was my first time attending. Incredible to hear from luminaries in the field and meet many amazing people working hard to bring new therapies to patients in need.

Thanks to everyone who reached out for a convo / met up!

Follow our work at @dittobio for more :)

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

My top 2 themes from this year's @Biocom Global Partnering & Investor Conference #BiocomGPIC:

1. AI's impact in drug discovery + development
2. China <> US competition & collaboration

Every panel conversation kept returning to these two areas. More in thread:

1/n

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

China (cont'd):
- for US companies to stay competitive, capital efficiency is king
- revisions to the regulatory landscape around starting clinical trials (e.g. centralized systems like in AUS/NZ) + improved speed to human evidence could level the playing field

4/n

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

Looking forward to great conversations around platform biotech, partnerships, and new collaborations. If you’re attending, please reach out! Would love to grab coffee and catch up.

[Dennis Sun @Mezarque]

Excited to be back home in sunny San Diego for @Biocom's Global Partnering & Investor Conference this week. hashtag #BiocomGPIC

I’m here representing our team at @dittobio, where we’re copying nature’s playbook to build next-gen protein therapeutics for autoimmune disease.