Dr Simon de Veer

Blood clotting is vital for preventing blood loss after injury, but it also drives life-threatening diseases and presents a major challenge in medical procedures. We designed, and are patenting, an early-stage candidate that selectively inhibits coagulation factor XIIa, a genetically and clinically validated target for developing next-generation drugs that specifically block disease-related clotting. The inhibitor was engineered from a cyclic peptide discovered in the seeds of a tropical plant, and is highly effective at blocking factor XIIa-initiated clotting in human plasma, but has no activity on injury-related clotting. Funding will support additional foundational studies to attract commercial partners.