Vilya, Inc.

AI powered drug discovery platform to design de novo macrocycles

Vilya was founded in 2022 by David Baker, Gaurav Bhardwaj, Patrick Salveson, and other scientists from the Institute for Protein Design together with ARCH Ventures. The company designs de novo membrane-permeable peptides (macrocycles) with high structural accuracy. This class of proteins combines the benefits of small molecules like aspirin (drugs that can slip through cell membranes) with the benefit of high affinity targeting like monoclonal antibodies. These attributes promise intracellular targeting with fewer side effects than small molecules. (Vilya was the Elvish ring of power worn by Elrond in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” saga.)