Erasca

Erasca is a clinical-stage precision oncology company founded in 2018 that develops therapeutics aimed at the RAS/MAPK signalling pathway, a driver of a wide range of cancers. The company's stated focus is on shutting down this pathway to "erase cancer"; it notes that RAS/MAPK-related diseases affect approximately 5.5m lives each year worldwide. Erasca pursues a modality-agnostic approach to drug discovery and therapeutic development, targeting the pathway at multiple points.

The company's portfolio comprises 11 distinct programmes, six of which emerged from internal discovery. The remainder reflect five acquisition and licensing agreements. Work spans precision oncology, RAS/MAPK pathway inhibition, drug discovery and cancer research, with impact referenced on a worldwide basis. Further detail on the pipeline and science is set out on erasca.com.

Erasca describes a mission-driven culture; the name itself encodes the goal of erasing cancer. Employees are known as "Erascals", and the company highlights alumni of Ignyta, Genentech and Wellspring, emphasising the distinct expertise of a team it considers greater than the sum of its parts. It also acknowledges that the path is unlikely to be easy or linear, citing a sense of urgency because patients are waiting. In May 2021 the company established the Erasca Foundation to support cancer research and education.