On February 7, 2022, 1859, Inc., a platform company combining artificial intelligence and empirical pico-scale screening data at scale to discover new small molecule medicines for emerging disease targets, launched and announced the close of a $40 million Series A funding round led by Northpond Ventures and OMX Ventures. Existing investors FusionX Ventures and Vertical Venture Partners also joined the round. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised 1859 on corporate and IP matters related to the company’s launch and financing.

The proceeds from the financing will support the development of new capabilities, and the scaling and advancement of preclinical discovery programs building upon a base of 16 pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic partners.

Founded in 2019, San Diego-based 1859 is led by an experienced team of life science innovators. At the heart of the company’s discovery engine is its unique “design, build, test, learn” process, which combines the best aspects of empirical data and in silico discovery methods, leveraging next-generation DNA-encoded libraries and artificial intelligence. The platform can identify, synthesize, and test high-potential small molecules at scale. By exploring billions of molecular starting points simultaneously, and rapidly synthesizing target-tailored bead-encoded libraries for testing on proprietary pico-scale screening platforms, 1859 can efficiently make discoveries, generate insights, and optimize those discoveries with short iteration cycles.

The Wilson Sonsini team that advised 1859 on its launch and Series A included corporate attorneys Zach Myers and Meg Burton; IP attorneys Matt Bresnahan and Adrian Barker; and patent agent Shawn Meade.

For more information, please see 1859’s press release.