At the same time, in the academic community at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Professor Pär Nordlund, had an idea: “What if it would be possible to assess target engagement directly in cells?”

One day at a train station, he ran into one of his former PhD students, Daniel Martinez Molina. When he pitched the idea to Daniel and they discussed the impact such an invention could have, Daniel was convinced; “We could make this work”.

Daniel started developing the now patented CETSA®: a revolutionary method that allows you to study cellular target engagement directly in cells and tissues. Soon, Daniel contacted Michael Dabrowski to ask for his industry insights and experience. When Michael saw the data (later published in Science 2013) he didn’t hesitate; “We must make this available to everyone in drug discovery”. 

Together, Pär, Daniel and Michael founded Pelago Bioscience to offer CETSA-based services. This invention, and the countless applications it offers, set off a revolution in drug discovery. CETSA is now an established cornerstone in the discovery of novel targeted therapies. It allows a faster and biological relevant discovery track to clinical development with better success rates.

Daniel (CSO) and Michael (CEO) are still working, together with the rest of the team at Pelago Bioscience, to realize their initial goal: that every drug candidate should know their targets before entering clinical trials.