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Category: Best Ag. Bio
CEO: John Dombrosky
Age of firm: 3 and a half years
Description: Early stage research firm designing Protac molecules for agriculture. Launched as a joint venture between Leaps by Bayer and Arvinas, its technology aims to combine the efficacy of synthetic chemistry with the safety profile of a biologic for crop protection and plant resilience..
What drove your firm’s growth this past year? Consumer demand for more sustainable farming practices has led to increased demand for innovative solutions in crop nutrition and crop protection. Oerth is collaborating with Yara International, a crop nutrition company, to co-develop novel products designed to improve nutrient use efficiency and strengthen plant resilience to climate change.
Since its inception, the firm is most proud of ...: our team. These are incredible scientists, many leaving rewarding roles in human therapeutics to take on the challenge of discovering something novel for a more sustainable food system.
Second, we’ve built Attune – the world’s first engine for ag Protac molecules. Using a rational target-based design process, the platform creates and tunes molecules for specific crop outcomes. This is expected to be a game-changing modality for agriculture and for farmers.
What are you most looking forward to in 2023-24? We’re excited about our recently announced research collaboration with the North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative. We will utilize their specialized facilities, greenhouse, laboratory and field resources to test our Protac molecules on multiple plant and pest species.
How can the Triangle nurture an even more vibrant life sciences community? We were intentional about locating Oerth Bio in historic Downtown Durham to be part of an existing community, not set apart from it. We recently expanded into the newly renovated BioLabs life sciences building on West Peabody Street. We believe it’s important that the life sciences sector integrates with existing Triangle communities.