Karsten Eastman (@Taikade) header
Karsten Eastman (@Taikade) profile picture

Karsten Eastman

@Taikade

Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of Sethera Therapeutics

 Salt Lake City
setheratx.com
Joined January 2012
  • Tweets28
  • Following29
  • Followers25
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Photo by Karsten Eastman (@Taikade)
Wild to wake up to this-- some of the science we have been working on was highlighted by @nypost. Great to see! nypost.com/2026/05/02/us-new…
Scientists discover enzyme that could supercharge Ozempic-like weight-loss drugs

Scientists discover enzyme that could supercharge Ozempic-like weight-loss drugs

Researchers at the University of Utah have discovered an enzyme called Pap B that will chemically change and update drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy making them stronger and last longer.

nypost.com
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What if we could make next-gen peptide drugs (think supercharged Ozempic) more stable, longer-lasting, and able to hit "undruggable" diseases? 💊💉⚗️ A radical enzyme called PapB just unlocked that - one enzymatic step to staple peptides into durable rings. Interview w/ discoverer Dr. Karsten Eastman @Taikade - CEO @SetheraTx drops today! 🔥 Watch: youtube.com/watch?v=ZnRRFKMB… #PeptideTherapeutics #Biotech #GLP1 #DrugDiscovery @JVPR_NY
Image from Progress, Potential, And Possibilities (@ProgressPotent1)
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What if we could make next-gen peptide drugs (think supercharged Ozempic) more stable, longer-lasting, and able to hit "undruggable" diseases? 💊💉⚗️ A radical enzyme called PapB just unlocked that - one enzymatic step to staple peptides into durable rings. Interview w/ discoverer Dr. Karsten Eastman @Taikade - CEO @SetheraTx drops today! 🔥 #PeptideTherapeutics #Biotech #GLP1 #DrugDiscovery @JVPR_NY
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Enzymes as design tools, not just catalysts. This interview covers how we harness rSAM chemistry to create recombinant polymacrocyclic peptides with drug-like properties. drugdiscoveryonline.com/doc/… #Peptides #DrugDiscovery #Enzymology
How Sethera Harnesses A Promiscuous Enzyme To Make Recombinant Peptides

How Sethera Harnesses A Promiscuous Enzyme To Make Recombinant Peptides

A class of enzymes previously believed to be specific and intolerant of change might actually have broad applicability.

drugdiscoveryonline.com
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Enzyme PapB could boost diabetes and obesity peptide drugs drugtargetreview.com/news/18…
Enzyme PapB could boost diabetes and obesity peptide drugs

Enzyme PapB could boost diabetes and obesity peptide drugs

Researchers have discovered an enzyme, PapB, that can 'tie off' therapeutic peptides into stable rings, which could help improve GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and obesity - making them more effective and...

drugtargetreview.com
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Check out our recent publication on enzymatic modification of GLP1 analogs! We think this is really exciting because it opens many unique doors for architectural changes in late-stage peptide development. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs…

Leader-Independent C‑Terminal Modification by a Radical S‑Adenosyl‑l‑methionine Maturase Enables...

Abstract. Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are a rapidly expanding family of natural products in which biosynthet

pubs.acs.org
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Sethera's first paper has released at PNAS. Check it out here! pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.25… #peptides #enzymes #science
Diverse thioether macrocyclized peptides through a radical SAM maturase | PNAS

Diverse thioether macrocyclized peptides through a radical SAM maturase | PNAS

Disulfide bonds stabilize many bioactive peptides, but their susceptibility to reduction under physiological conditions limits broad applicability ...

pnas.org
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Natural enzyme expands possibilities for peptide drug discovery phys.org/news/2025-08-natura… via @physorg_com

Natural enzyme expands possibilities for peptide drug discovery

A team of researchers from the University of Utah and Sethera Therapeutics has uncovered a powerful new way to build more stable and drug-like peptides, opening the door to medicines that could...

phys.org
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A promiscuous #rSAM enzyme enables diverse peptide cross-linking doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomedche… Working together with @taikade @MCMChem Paul Oblad, and @Vahooster (Bandarian) we show that PapB has a high tolerance for variations in the peptide substrate. @UtahChemistry @UUtah
Image from a. g. roberts chemistry (@agr_chemistry)
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New in JBC press: "Scientists' findings lead to a new paradigm involving intermolecular electron transfer steps in the activation of rSAM enzymes that require multiple iron-sulfur clusters for turnover." Learn more: jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(2…
Figure 4. FldA and FMN are reduced in the presence of NADPH.

ALT Figure 4. FldA and FMN are reduced in the presence of NADPH.

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A Promiscuous #rSAM Enzyme Enables Diverse Peptide Crosslinking By Vahe Bandarian @Vahooster @UtahChemistry  🔓 Open access in ACS Bio & Med Chem Au 👉 go.acs.org/5RN #ACSBioMedChemAu
A Promiscuous rSAM Enzyme Enables Diverse Peptide Cross-linking

A Promiscuous rSAM Enzyme Enables Diverse Peptide Cross-linking

Abstract. Ribosomally produced and post-translationally modified polypeptides (RiPPs) are a diverse group of natural products that are processed by a varie

pubs.acs.org
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Another publication from my son, Karsten @Taikade, and others at @jbiolchem. Intermolecular electron transfer in radical SAM enzymes as a new paradigm for reductive activation. jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(2…

Intermolecular electron transfer in radical SAM enzymes as a new paradigm for reductive activation

Radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine (rSAM) enzymes bind one or more Fe-S clusters and catalyze transformations that produce complex and structurally diverse natural products. One of the clusters, a...

jbc.org
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Paper #3 is out! We were able to build and generate evidence for a new model for reductive activation in rSAM enzymes. We really hope other labs try the FMN + NADPH experiments! jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(2…
Image from Karsten Eastman (@Taikade)
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Karsten Eastman retweeted
Vahe Bandarian (@Vahooster) profile picture
Vahe Bandarian@Vahooster29 Apr 2023
Starting to understand how a radical SAM enzyme makes a thioether crosslink - the auxiliary iron-sulfur cluster binds the substrate! pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jac…
Peptide Selenocysteine Substitutions Reveal Direct Substrate–Enzyme Interactions at Auxiliary...

Peptide Selenocysteine Substitutions Reveal Direct Substrate–Enzyme Interactions at Auxiliary...

Abstract. Radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) enzymes leverage the properties of one or more iron- and sulfide-containing metallocenters to catalyze comp

pubs.acs.org
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Karsten Eastman retweeted
J. Am. Chem. Soc. (@J_A_C_S) profile picture
J. Am. Chem. Soc.@J_A_C_S28 Apr 2023
Peptide Selenocysteine Substitutions Reveal Direct Substrate–Enzyme Interactions at Auxiliary Clusters in Radical S-Adenosyl-l-methionine Maturases @OHSUNews @UtahChemistry @Vahooster @UUtah #Peptide #Selenocysteine #Clusters #Radical #SAM #Maturases pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jac…
Peptide Selenocysteine Substitutions Reveal Direct Substrate–Enzyme Interactions at Auxiliary...

Peptide Selenocysteine Substitutions Reveal Direct Substrate–Enzyme Interactions at Auxiliary...

Abstract. Radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) enzymes leverage the properties of one or more iron- and sulfide-containing metallocenters to catalyze comp

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My eldest son, Karsten (@Taikade), has been published again in the Journal of the American Chemical Society @J_A_C_S Congrats to all the authors for their contribution and work. #biochem pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021…
Peptide Selenocysteine Substitutions Reveal Direct Substrate–Enzyme Interactions at Auxiliary...

Peptide Selenocysteine Substitutions Reveal Direct Substrate–Enzyme Interactions at Auxiliary...

Abstract. Radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) enzymes leverage the properties of one or more iron- and sulfide-containing metallocenters to catalyze comp

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PapB modifies a variety of peptide substrates. The promiscuity of PapB was leveraged toward the in vitro synthesis of a thioether macrocyclized analogue of the FDA-approved drug octreotide. NEW #ASAP by Vahe Bandarian & team @UtahChemistry Read here: go.acs.org/1Vn
Image from ACS Central Science (@ACSCentSci)
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Karsten Eastman retweeted
Vahe Bandarian (@Vahooster) profile picture
Vahe Bandarian@Vahooster2 Aug 2022
Beyond thrilled to see our newest paper in ACS Central Science, where we report studies that reveal breathtaking substrate tolerance by radical SAM RiPP maturase. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs…

Leveraging Substrate Promiscuity of a Radical S‑Adenosyl‑L‑methionine RiPP Maturase toward Intram...

Abstract. Radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine (RS) enzymes operate on a variety of substrates and catalyze a wide range of complex radical-mediated transformat

pubs.acs.org
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