Ep177: Kevin Parker on Finding Cancer Drug Targets

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Kevin Parker, CEO of Cartography Biosciences, describes how the company uses single-cell and multi-omic methods to discover novel cancer antigens, aiming to expand the small pool of viable drug targets. He traces his path from Harvard and Stanford genomics research to founding Cartography, explains why the company focuses on antibodies, and details its partnership with Gilead and lead CRC target LY6G60.

Main Topics: Why cancer target discovery is the bottleneck (Priority: 5/5): The conversation opens with the idea that oncology has many drugs aimed at the same targets, but far fewer efforts to discover new ones. Parker argues the field needs more target discovery to match the pace of drug development. Parker’s scientific path and training (Priority: 4/5): Parker recounts his upbringing in a scientist family, early aversion to biology, then discovery of biology as an exploratory discipline in college. His undergraduate and graduate research experience shaped his career direction. Single-cell genomics as the enabling technology (Priority: 5/5): The discussion explains how single-cell methods moved biology beyond bulk averaging, allowing Parker’s lab to detect rare cell populations and map mutations, epigenetic states, and expression with much higher resolution. From academic insight to company formation (Priority: 5/5): Parker’s work on CD-19 neurotoxicity and broader antigen mapping led to the idea for Cartography: a company built to discover new targets and then develop drugs against them, rather than only analyze existing targets. Cartography’s platform and data strategy (Priority: 5/5): The company emphasizes internally generated, standardized, fully integrated datasets across healthy and tumor tissues to reduce noise, identify true biology, and de-risk therapeutic development early. Partnership with Gilead and therapeutic strategy (Priority: 4/5): Cartography partnered with Gilead to apply its target-discovery engine to lung adenocarcinoma and triple-negative breast cancer, with Gilead bringing multiple drug modalities while Cartography supplies the target selection. Lead target and company ambition (Priority: 4/5): The transcript highlights the CRC lead program LY6G60 as a highly specific target, while Parker stresses the broader mission: prove the platform works, advance drugs internally, and help expand the cancer target landscape.

Key Arguments: The oncology field has a “too many hammers, not enough nails” problem: drugs are advancing faster than new targets are being discovered. Single-cell genomics enables discovery of rare, clinically important cell populations that bulk sequencing averages away. A company can translate target discovery into patient impact more effectively than academia alone because it can build and advance therapeutics. Building a clean, internally consistent dataset is essential to avoid artifacts and identify real biology. Antibody-based modalities were chosen because they are more established, more practical for a young company, and well suited to surface-antigen targets. Target discovery can de-risk drug development by identifying off-tumor expression and potential toxicities before expensive clinical failure. The Gilead partnership reflects a division of labor: Cartography finds the targets, while Gilead supplies therapeutic engineering and development breadth. LY6G60 stood out in colorectal cancer because it appeared to be the most specific target in the company’s dataset and was prioritized after validation and literature review.

Data Points: Series A financing: $57 million - Cartography Biosciences raised this round in summer 2022. Company founding period: Started during the pandemic - Parker references the company’s launch in 2020 amid COVID disruptions. Paper timing for CAR-T neurotoxicity observations: End of 2017 - He says two NEJM papers prompted his interest in CD-19 toxicities. Single-cell throughput early in grad school: 96 cells at a time - Using the Fluidigm C1 platform in early single-cell workflows. Early large experiment scale: 5,000 cells - One experiment Parker describes as a major accomplishment in his lab. Field growth in single-cell profiling: Thousands to hundreds of thousands of cells - He describes the progression from early plate-based methods to droplet-based methods like 10x Genomics. Cancer indications in partnership: 2 - Gilead collaboration covers lung adenocarcinoma and triple-negative breast cancer. Tumor focus in partnership: Lung and breast - Specific indications mentioned in the Gilead collaboration. Lead target: LY6G60 - Named as the lead program in colorectal cancer. Key timeline: 2012 - Parker says his biology turnaround began in his freshman year of college.

Pivotal Quotes: "we've got too many hammers and not enough nails" — Kevin Parker: His central metaphor for why oncology needs more target discovery, not just more drug modalities. "The field really does not have a lot of targets to go after." — Kevin Parker: Explaining the opportunity Cartography is trying to fill by discovering new antigens. "If you really believed in what you were finding, wouldn't you advance it forward?" — Kevin Parker: His rationale for building drugs internally rather than stopping at target discovery.

Implications: The episode argues that cancer progress now depends on better target discovery, not just better drug engineering. If Cartography’s platform succeeds, it could broaden the oncology target landscape, reduce late-stage toxicity surprises, and accelerate more precise therapies.