GOLD MOUNTAIN RESEARCH
Building innovative scientific solutions for major life sciences challenges of our time
/ Our story
Pragmatic & focused innovations - powered by deep science - at the heart of gold mountain research
Welcome to Gold Mountain Research (GMR) of Pittsburgh, PA, whose roots go back to Stanford University.
GMR is a privately operated research center leveraging strengths in biophysics, computation, molecular design & transmutation, off-the-beaten-path drug discovery, and microbiology.
Focused Innovations - the leaders “have been around the block, not the first rodeo!”
After 4 decades of service in academia, in platform biotechs (with successful exits by acquisition), in government labs (NCI in Frederick), and top leader as the Chief Executive of a non-profit research lab, we have seen many innovations launch.
As a result, GMR takes great effort applying a highly selective approach to the selection of appropriate technologies and programs within each strategic goal area.
/ Our STRATEGY
GMR pursues drug discovery chemistry challenges:
* NOVEL MOLECULAR STRATEGIES FOR NEW MEDICINES IN DISEASES OF IMMUNE SYSTEM DISREGULATION
* COMBINING BIOPHYSICS TECHNOLOGY WITH TOP-SHELF MEDCHEM
* PLATFORM-POWERED PARTNERSHIPS
* PLATFORM-POWERED PARTNERSHIPS
our portfolio includes high IMPORTANCE target spaces
- : proven, validated cytokine signaling pathways : addressed with completely novel molecular mechanisms for disruption of protein-protein complexes : insights from deep biophysics
phased with timing matched to collaborations
: U2 Biotech launched in July 2025 : Achilles' Heel attack was discovered internally and has been incubated under stealth internal pursuit :
gmr programs may be computation-intensive
: chemical evolution in drug design and lead-to-IND optimization : enablement of large-scale panoramic 3D navigation across small molecule drugs for AI :
/ Current Programs
U2: a novel mode for oral small molecule therapeutics to moderate inflammatory and rheumatoid diseases (very large market), empowered by biophysics expertise. Our team has discovered a hidden Achilles' Heel which is capable of being leveraged as a new modulation site hidden within well-known protein complexes that play a vital role in cytokine signaling. The launch of the U2 Biotech newco is led by an experienced leadership team, and the biophysics/medchem stage is anticipated to swiftly advance into the lead optimization stage to result in novel drug candidates providing the medical field with highly differentiated new options in treating patients. Fundraising for the pursuit up through Dev Candidate stage is currently underway. This internal invention also results in wholly-owned IP.
Further strategic drug discovery collaborations: include those with a closely affiliated non-profit Platform TechBio, known as the Institute for Molecular Intelligence. This features tech platforms mintAI, and GMR-MV4AI, a set of novel physics-based computational algorithms that will transform the ability of AI driven search and retrieval for new medicines.
De novo lead discovery on high-importance targets, and powerful hit and lead-to-IND optimization, and scaffold-hopping to provide vision into new alternatives that leverage clinically-experienced drug candidates, are all enabled by this nextgen AI technology.
De novo lead discovery on high-importance targets, and powerful hit and lead-to-IND optimization, and scaffold-hopping to provide vision into new alternatives that leverage clinically-experienced drug candidates, are all enabled by this nextgen AI technology.
/ about us
strengths by 4 decades of innovation
Contact:
akuki@goldmountainresearch.com
or via:
linkedin.com/in/atsuokuki
The founder, Dr. Atsuo Kuki, earned his PhD in 1985 from Stanford University, and has spent 14 years in La Jolla, CA in a private computational and parallel synthesis platform biotech, acquired by a public structure-based drug design R&D biotech, acquired by Parke-Davis, acquired by Pfizer… then served as an executive and technology leader within Pfizer La Jolla R&D
Academic training was in protein biophysics & spectroscopy, picosecond lasers, theoretical quantum biophysics (early days of Cray Supercomputers), Feynman path integrals, path integral Monte Carlo (quantum stat mech; electron transfer theory)
Relevant drug discovery technologies: parallel synthesis, library design, cycles of retrosynthesis and forward synthesis during lead optimization, target protein expression and crystallization, SBDD, biophysical MassSpec, chemical datasystems, JAVA (Pfizer Global Virtual Library tools)
Leader of team leaders, integration of diverse biotech and pharma R&D cultures, global Pfizer R&D technology ambassador and diplomat. Effective in working across silos. Awarded the Pfizer Global R&D Achievement Award for multi-site drug discovery technology leadership
Front-line experience with government contracting, operating as a leader in the FFRDC (Leidos) for the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, MD
President of Trudeau Institute, Saranac Lake NY. Infectious diseases research laboratory with an honored and eminent place in the history of TB (Edward Livingston Trudeau, 1884)