Movement I — The Practice
Maestro Therapeutics helps biotech innovators advance peptide programs through multidisciplinary R&D collaboration, scientific strategy, and partnering insight—a seven-year practice built on doing the hard part of drug hunting alongside the teams that own it.
Who we work with
Biotech founders, R&D leaders, venture partners, and pharma collaborators—from spinouts through late-stage and public companies.
What we contribute
Preclinical peptide lead optimization: linear and macrocyclic modalities and their conjugates, advanced toward development candidates.
How we engage
Regular project meetings, transparent idea and data sharing, and real-time tracking of peptide chemistry and SAR.
Movement II — Five Instruments
The thread opens. Five disciplines, run as one team.
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01
Peptide Design
Concept-to-sequence design with explicit biological rationale, across linear and macrocyclic modalities and conjugates thereof.
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02
Structural Biology & Computational Modeling
Mechanistic insight from co-structures—X-ray and cryo-EM—coupled to sophisticated dynamics and in silico modeling.
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03
Lead Optimization
Systematic improvement of potency, selectivity, stability, and developability—translating in vitro SAR into in vivo outcomes.
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04
Peptide Chemistry & Translational Strategy
Synthesis, characterization, and the pharmacokinetic, safety, and drug-delivery work that carries a molecule toward the clinic.
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05
Funding & Partnering Liaison
Strategic introductions and deal-shaping across venture, pharma BD&L, CROs, and service providers—built on a deep interfacing network.
Movement III — The Method
How a Maestro collaboration runs.
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Phase 01
Frame the problem
Target, modality, and the biological rationale that has to hold before a single analog is made.
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Phase 02
Design & model
Structure-guided design against co-structures and computational models, with candidate series prioritized on rationale.
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Phase 03
Optimize in the open
Real-time SAR tracking, transparent data sharing, and regular project meetings that keep both teams in harmony.
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Phase 04
Translate
In vitro SAR carried into efficacy, pharmacokinetic, safety, and delivery models toward in vivo proof-of-concept.
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Phase 05
Position & partner
Development candidates framed for investors and pharma, supported by introductions across our network.
Movement IV — Measured
Seven years, in numbers that held up.
- >40biotech, venture, and pharma collaborations since 2019
- >$500Minfluenced in biotech funding and partnering outcomes
- Several thousandpeptide analogs advanced with collaborators
- >60years of collective multidisciplinary peptide expertise
- >660publications, patents, and presentations credited to Tomi Sawyer
- >100professionals mentored across academia, biotech, and pharma
Track record preceding Maestro
- >$2B market cap growth at Ariad Pharmaceuticals
- $1B Aileron–Roche strategic alliance
- First pharma Peptide Drug Hunter Network, at Merck
Movement V — Voices
Working with Tomi and the Maestro Therapeutics team has been a genuine pleasure and a big help to BioAge. Their deep expertise in peptide design, chemistry, computational modeling, and lead optimization has meaningfully strengthened our discovery efforts, while their engagement with external partners has provided valuable support for both our science and business objectives.
Tomi is a recognized world-class peptide chemist known for his creativity and productive thought processes. As a leading chemist in the melanocortin peptide field, we deliberately sought him out to embark on our mission together. Tomi’s expertise has been invaluable for the development of best-in-class MC4R agonists at Courage Therapeutics.
From Entrada’s inception, the team at Maestro Therapeutics has been an integral part in our journey to push forward the boundaries of peptide therapeutics. Tomi is an institution in the peptide field and an exceptional thought partner, possessing an endless reservoir of knowledge paired with an uncanny ability to ask the right questions at the right time.
Maestro Therapeutics have been instrumental in supporting EpiAxis’ strategic and scientific progress over a period of significant change. The deep, multidisciplinary experience that Tomi and the Maestro team have contributed to our discovery efforts have created significant value for our company.
Tomi has been a trusted scientific advisor to Ladder Bio for many years. He recognized early the unique potential of Spiroligomers, and his guidance has helped us sharpen the platform, prioritize its most differentiated targets, and advance this new modular chemistry toward meaningful medicines.
Whenever we have a question about peptide development—chemistries, targets, regulatory, assays, informatics, and everything in between—we know we can count on Tomi and the Maestro Therapeutics team. They not only get us the right information but also the broader context: the people, companies, and programs that ultimately make new drugs.
For Pepticom the work with Tomi and the Maestro Therapeutics team is a great source of knowledge, knowhow and an outstanding prospective of the peptide drug field that enabled the streamlining of our platform as well as the creation of valuable business collaborations.
Maestro Therapeutics has been a valuable scientific and strategic partner to Receptor.AI. Tomi has brought deep expertise in peptide drug discovery, practical insight into translational development, and thoughtful guidance on how to position and advance collaborative programs.
Across a remarkably wide range of topics—from deep scientific questions to business development and corporate strategy—Tomi has consistently provided insightful, thoughtful, and highly valuable guidance that reflects both his profound expertise and his distinguished, longstanding career.
Movement VI — The Ensemble
Three entrepreneurs, one family — a multidisciplinary ensemble.
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Tomi Sawyer, Ph.D.
Founder, Chief Drug Hunter & President
The founding thread — four decades of drug hunting, >660 works
Four decades driving drug discovery across pharma and biotech. Ph.D. 1981, University of Arizona, under Professor Victor Hruby. Formerly Senior Vice President, Drug Discovery at Ariad Pharmaceuticals (now Takeda); Chief Scientific Officer at Aileron Therapeutics (now Rein Therapeutics); and Distinguished Scientist at Merck. Credited with more than 660 publications, patents, and presentations.
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Thomas Sawyer, Ph.D.
Head, Structural Biology & Computational Modeling
The analytical thread — structure, dynamics, and in silico insight
Ph.D. 2022, University of Massachusetts. Joined Maestro after biotech internships that sharpened an entrepreneurial path into peptide discovery, and now leads structure- and dynamics-driven insight across the portfolio.
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Jonathon Sawyer, Ph.D.
Head, Peptide Chemistry & Project Team Management
The executional thread — synthesis, SAR, and project momentum
Ph.D. 2022, University of Arizona. Leads peptide chemistry execution and project team management, connecting synthesis and SAR to the programs our partners are running.
Movement VII — The Record
Published, presented, patented.
Keynotes & featured lectures
Victor J. Hruby Symposium (2026), TIDES USA (2026, 2020), Hanson Wade Summits (2026, 2024), CHI conferences (2021, 2020), and expert panels at CHI (2025) and Hanson Wade (2025).
Invited seminars
AbbVie, Abiologics, Bicycle Therapeutics, Biohaven Pharma, Entrada, EpiAxis, Exeliris, 48Hours Discovery, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, J&J Innovative Medicine, Ormoni Bio, Pepticom, Perpetual Medicines, SyntheX, and Vivtex.
Perspectives, reviews & articles
Nature Communications, the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, JACS, ACS Chemical Biology, ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, Chemical Science, Molecules, Pharmaceutical Research, the Journal of Controlled Release, and the International Journal of Toxicology.
Book chapters
ACS Symposium Series on Approaching the Next Inflection in Peptide Therapeutics; the Royal Society of Chemistry Drug Discovery Series on Peptide Therapeutics; and Wiley’s Contemporary Accounts in Drug Discovery & Development.
Patent filings
In collaboration with Courage Therapeutics, Centessa Pharmaceuticals, Resolute Bio, additional undisclosed biotechs, and Merck.
R&D consulting · Business advising · Scientific scholarship & mentoring
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