Modern diseases are a result of cultural evoluton outpacing biology, and so inflammation has become maladaptive. The safety issues limit thet current repertoire of anti-inflammatory drugs from serving a majority of patients. In 2018, human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) were discovered in the blood of pregnant women and an epidemiological study showed that elevated levels of key HMOs were associated with rheumatoid arthritis remission. Out of the 600 quintillion potential glycans, 300 million years of mammalian evolution have sorted out 200+ HMOs that are functionally bioactive in the body.

Intrinsic Medicine is a platform company innovative safe, bioactive sugars (like those HMOs) as a new therapeutic modality. With a combined 30 years of pharmaceutical industry experience at Ionis, Jason and Alex have been are using two key HMOs to be the only safe and effective solution for young people with irritable bowel syndrome, and they are taking their lead assets to clinical trial now.