Creyon Bio & Cajal Neuroscience Announce Partnership to Develop Oligonucleotide-Based Medicines for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Creyon Bio, Inc. and Cajal Neuroscience recently announced a partnership to develop novel OBMs for neurodegenerative diseases. Under the collaboration, the companies are developing antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) for multiple neurodegenerative diseases. Cajal is responsible for nominating targets and mechanisms of action based on therapeutic insights from their discovery platform. Creyon is responsible for engineering oligonucleotide therapeutic candidates leveraging the powerful Creyon Platform, the first and only OBM platform designed to engineer for safety first, creating lead compounds with optimal pharmacological properties designed to minimize side effects. Cajal will complete validation and IND-enabling studies of the lead therapeutic candidates. Creyon and Cajal have initiated and successfully advanced multiple programs, including one program nearing IND-enabling studies.

Chris Hart, PhD, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Creyon Bio, said, “We are well positioned to accelerate the development of much needed therapies for patients with common neurodegenerative disorders by combining Cajal’s target identification capabilities with our platform designed to engineer safe, effective, and ultimately best-in-class compounds. This synergy between innovative target discovery capabilities and expert engineering of oligonucleotide-based medicines illustrates the strategic value of collaboration to advance new treatments for a myriad of diseases where there is high unmet need.”

“Oligonucleotides offer a promising modality for treating diseases of the central nervous system, including neurodegenerative disease. Using our human genetics platform we have identified novel targets that are well suited to oligonucleotide therapeutics. Creyon’s expertise in developing ASOs has been instrumental in our ability to prosecute on the targets we have identified. We look forward to continuing the collaboration as new targets continue to emerge from our platform,” added Ian Peikon, PhD, and Andrew Dervan, MD, Co-Founders & Co-Chief Executive Officers of Cajal Neuroscience.

Creyon Bio is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing best-in-class precision medicines with industry-leading efficiency through molecular engineering of Oligonucleotide-Based Medicines (OBMs). This includes ASOs, siRNAs, and aptamers. The company is changing how we create novel OBMs, transforming the process from drug discovery to drug engineering. Creyon has built the first and only platform capable of engineering for safety first, translating new target discoveries to OBMs with optimal pharmacological properties. Coupled with our aptamer-based delivery technologies, Creyon Bio is unlocking the full potential of OBMs for common and rare diseases alike. For more information, visit creyonbio.com.

Cajal Neuroscience is a biotechnology company committed to developing therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases. Cajal is focused on identifying genetic modifiers of disease progression and translating them into novel therapeutics for neurodegeneration. Cajal leverages an integrated platform that layers genetics with human multi-omics, longitudinal clinical data, and high-throughput biology. Cajal has built a pipeline of therapeutics based on genetic discoveries into the molecular drivers of disease progression, with an initial focus on Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Cajal is headquartered in Seattle, WA.