Neurotherapeutics

Toxins are potent. We make them precise.

Inspired by toxins from spiders, snakes and scorpions, we design therapeutic molecules for the nervous system. Our first goal is to ease resting tremor in Parkinson's disease.

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Peptide chain · 3 disulfide bridges (schematic)

The problem

When pills stop working, the options are few and each one has a cost

Our first target is resting tremor in Parkinson's. When oral treatments lose efficacy, these are the alternatives available today.

Surgery

A surgical procedure to treat the tremor.

Focused ultrasound

A specialized procedure that treats the tremor with ultrasound waves.

Botulinum toxin

Reduces movement, but also causes muscle weakness. The tremor calms and strength is lost.

Why it is still unsolved

The leading treatment falls short, and the right molecule is hard to make

Limit of today's treatment

It manages dopamine, yet the tremor keeps coming back

The main treatment regulates dopamine levels. Resting tremor is controlled only irregularly.

Technical limit

Toxins act with precision, but reproducing them is a challenge

Toxins can act on the neuromuscular junction without crossing the blood-brain barrier. But they carry multiple disulfide bridges, and recreating their three-dimensional structure in heterologous (recombinant) expression remains difficult.

The tool exists in nature. What is missing is knowing how to design and make it.

The solution

Chimeric toxins that turn down the signal reaching the muscle

At Cys-BioTech we design toxins that modulate the signal a nerve passes to a muscle. We turn a toxic molecule into a candidate to reduce involuntary movements.

The toxin binds the channel and turns the signal down. It does not switch it off. Simplified schematic of the proposed mechanism.

We identify molecules with attractive functions

We start from natural toxins that already act on ion channels of the nervous system.

We swap fragments and optimize the sequence

We build chimeric toxins and improve their folding so the disulfide bridges form correctly.

We evaluate with molecular dynamics

We simulate each candidate and take the best ones to the lab.

This is not a cure. It is a palliative with an alternative mechanism, and we are validating that mechanism now.

Press & milestones

News, events and validations

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FAQ

What you may be wondering

Answers drafted from the pitch. Pending review by the scientific team.

What is Cys-BioTech?

We are a team from the IBt at UNAM with more than 20 years of experience studying venoms and antidotes. Inspired by toxins from spiders, snakes and scorpions, we design therapeutic molecules for the nervous system.

What is a chimeric toxin?

A toxin we design ourselves. We identify molecules with attractive functions, swap fragments and optimize the sequence to improve folding. The result binds ion channels and regulates the signal that produces involuntary movements.

Is it a cure for Parkinson's?

No. For now it is a palliative with an alternative mechanism. Our first goal is to ease resting tremor.

Why act on the neuromuscular junction?

Toxins can act with precision on the neuromuscular junction without having to cross the blood-brain barrier.

Why are toxins hard to manufacture?

Toxins are molecules with multiple disulfide bridges. Reproducing their three-dimensional structure in heterologous (recombinant) expression remains a challenge, and it is where our expertise lies.

What stage are you at, and what comes next?

We are at the pre-seed stage. Next we will validate the mechanism of action at a commercial level, scale up production and select the next therapeutic molecule.

Who we are

The people behind Cys-BioTech

A team from the IBt at UNAM with more than 20 years studying venoms and antidotes. Three founders with expertise in structural biology, toxin characterization and business, backed by two scientific advisors in heterologous expression of toxins and peptides.