Wilson Sonsini advised Light Horse Therapeutics, a developer of small molecule therapeutics, on its debut $62 million Series A financing. The financing, announced on January 9, 2025, was led by founding investor Versant Ventures and included Mubadala Capital as well as three strategic investors: Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Taiho Ventures, and AbbVie. Light Horse is the latest company started by Versant’s Inception Discovery Engine, and its scientific co-founders are Brian Liau, Ph.D., Ben Cravatt, Ph.D., and Nathanael Gray, Ph.D.

Based in San Diego, Light Horse has developed a proprietary platform that uncovers novel functional sites in disease-critical targets. Their method, which integrates distinct approaches, is based on precision genetic editing and allows for a faster discovery of clinical candidates by studying proteins in their native environment. Light Horse's "function-first" approach is the converse of traditional “screening-first” methodologies.

The Wilson Sonsini team advising Light Horse includes:

Corporate
Karen Deschaine
Phil McGill

Technology Transactions
Farah Gerdes
Miranda Biven
Sarah (Siedlak) Walker

Patents and Innovations
Lou Lieto

For more information, please see Light Horse's news release. Additional coverage can be found on Fierce Biotech.