Plexxikon, which was founded in December 2000, employs a novel approach to discovery in the post-genome era. The company uses innovative structure-based screening, with a focus on families of proteins sharing common folds, or domains, to discover and develop novel chemical scaffolds and small molecule leads for pharmaceutically relevant targets. The company plans to develop these leads independently and through corporate partnerships. Plexxikon completed an $8.2 million Series A Preferred Stock round of venture financing on May 11, 2001. Participants in the round included Alta Partners, CW Ventures, Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV), and Kumho Group.