Escient Pharmaceuticals is developing drugs against a class of receptors called GPCRs, first focusing on neuro-immuno-inflammatory and autoreactive diseases. Escient is interested in the GPCRs that, to date, have no known function or ligand. By targeting these orphaned GPCRs, the company aims to develop drugs that treat unserved indications. The company was founded based on work by Dr. Xingzhong Dong, world-renowned researcher of Mrgprs (a novel family of GPCRs) and Professor of Neuroscience, Neurosurgery, and Dermatology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.