What CuraSen Therapeutics does

CuraSen Therapeutics is a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in San Carlos, California, founded in October 2018 to develop small-molecule drugs that restore noradrenergic signaling in the brain lost due to locus coeruleus deterioration in neurodegenerative disease. The company's pipeline comprises brain-permeant agonists of beta-2 adrenoceptors (CST-103/CST-2032, the latter paired with CST-107/nadolol as a combination therapy to suppress peripheral side effects) and a selective alpha-1A adrenoceptor agonist (CST-3056/CuraAX). Named programs target neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH) in Parkinson's and related alpha-synuclein disorders, cognitive and mood symptoms in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, major depressive disorder in older adults, and orphan neurodegenerative indications including progressive supranuclear palsy and ALS.

The underlying technology is differentiated by its combination-therapy architecture and by a Phase 1/2 dataset showing statistically significant increases in cerebral blood flow (e.g., 20.3% in hippocampus, p=0.001 with CST-103) and Cohen's d effect sizes of 0.3-0.91 across cognitive and mood endpoints in patients with MCI, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's. CuraSen's enabling research was licensed from Stanford University, and the company has built a leadership team of repeat biotech operators with prior exits (Afferent to Merck for $1.25 billion; Plexxikon to Daiichi Sankyo for approximately $1 billion).

CuraSen has no commercial product and is therefore pre-revenue. Its business model is a traditional biopharma value-creation pathway: advance drug candidates through Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials with outsourced CROs and academic medical centers (including Vanderbilt Autonomic Dysfunction Center), secure regulatory designations (orphan drug pathway for nOH is a near-term strategic priority), and ultimately commercialize through specialty neurology and psychiatry sales channels and standard pharmaceutical distribution. Revenue is expected to be generated through pharmaceutical product sales post-approval, with the company headquartered in the U.S. and clinical operations spanning New Zealand, Belgium, the U.K., Australia, and the EU.

Name

CuraSen Therapeutics

Legal name

CuraSen Therapeutics, Inc.

Website

https://curasen.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CuraSen Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing brain-permeant small-molecule drugs that target adrenergic receptors to treat neurogenic orthostatic hypotension, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and major depressive disorder in older adults. The company is pre-revenue and headquartered in San Carlos, California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Carlos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical Product Sales: Once regulatory approvals are obtained, CuraSen plans to commercialize its drug candidates (CuraAX, CuraCN, CuraXN) through traditional pharmaceutical sales channels, targeting specialty neurology and psychiatry prescribers, as well as hospital and retail pharmacies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CuraSen Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing oral small-molecule drug candidates that target beta-2 and alpha-1A adrenergic receptors in the brain to restore noradrenergic signaling lost through locus coeruleus degeneration in neurodegenerative diseases. Its pipeline includes CuraAX (CST-3056) for neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH) and Alzheimer's disease, CuraCN (CST-103/CST-107) for major depressive disorder in older adults, and CuraXN (CST-2032/CST-107) for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, with combinations pairing the agonist with the peripherally restricted beta-blocker nadolol to suppress peripheral side effects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CuraAX: Alpha-1A adrenoceptor agonist (CST-3056) being developed for neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH) and cognitive impairment.
• CuraCN
• CuraXN

Products and services

• CuraAX (CST-3056) Investigational selective, CNS-penetrant alpha-1A adrenoceptor agonist designed to stabilize blood pressure and maintain cerebral blood flow for the treatment of neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH), with additional cognitive benefits; also being developed for Alzheimer's disease. Targeted at patients with nOH associated with Parkinson's disease and related alpha-synuclein disorders.
• CuraAX (CST-3056) Phase 1 Program Phase 1 clinical development program for the alpha-1A adrenoceptor agonist CST-3056 (CuraAX), evaluating safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics to support subsequent Phase 2a studies in neurogenic orthostatic hypotension and Alzheimer's disease.
• CuraCN (CST-103/CST-107) Investigational brain-permeant beta-2 adrenoceptor agonist (CST-103, clenbuterol) co-administered with the peripherally restricted beta-blocker nadolol (CST-107), being developed to treat major depressive disorder in adults 65 and older and to address cognitive impairment and autonomic dysfunction in Parkinson's disease patients.
• CuraXN (CST-2032/CST-107) Investigational beta-2 adrenoceptor agonist (CST-2032) combined with the peripherally restricted beta-blocker nadolol (CST-107), being developed to address cognitive symptoms and modify disease progression in Alzheimer's disease patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia.

Quantifiable outcome

• 27.4% increase in cerebral blood flow in thalamic region (from 40.0±6 to 50.6±9.4 ml/100g/min, P=0.0081) at highest salbutamol dose
• +8 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Stanford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLicensed key research from Dr. Mehrdad Shamloo at Stanford University, including research on targeting adrenergic receptors for neurodegenerative disease treatment. Dr. Shamloo serves as Co-founder and Chair of CuraSen's Scientific Advisory Board.
• Vanderbilt Autonomic Dysfunction CentercoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerClinical trial site for Phase 2a nOH study with CuraAX. Principal Investigator Dr. Italo Biaggioni, professor of medicine and pharmacology at Vanderbilt, is an internationally recognized nOH expert.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Anavex Life Sciences: Clinical-stage biopharma developing small molecules (e.g., blarcamesine) for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease dementia, and Rett syndrome. Closely comparable in therapeutic focus (AD/PD), modality (oral small molecules), and clinical-stage status.
• Denali Therapeutics: Biopharma developing small molecules and biologics for neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Comparable in CNS focus and clinical-stage pipeline, though Denali has broader modality coverage and greater resources.
• Athira Pharma: Clinical-stage company developing small molecule therapies (fosgonimeton) targeting neurodegeneration, with focus on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Closely comparable in CNS indication focus and small molecule modality at similar development stage.
• Cerevel Therapeutics: CNS-focused clinical-stage biopharma developing small molecules for Parkinson's disease and other neuroscience indications (acquired by AbbVie for $8.7B in 2024). Comparable in CNS small molecule pipeline and Parkinson's disease focus, illustrating partnership/acquisition exit path.
• Axsome Therapeutics: CNS-focused commercial-stage biopharma with approved drugs for depression (Auvelity) and migraine. Comparable in CNS small molecule focus and rapid-onset treatment positioning, but at later commercial stage.
• Sage Therapeutics: CNS-focused biopharma developing novel small molecules for depression and neurological disorders (acquired by Biogen for ~$7.5B in 2024). Comparable in CNS small molecule pipeline and depression indication overlap with CuraSen's CuraCN program.

Broad incumbents

• Intra-Cellular Therapies: Approved CNS drug developer (Caplyta/lumateperone for schizophrenia and bipolar depression) now expanding into neurodegenerative and Parkinson's disease indications. Comparable in CNS focus with greater commercial maturity following Janssen acquisition.
• Acadia Pharmaceuticals: Commercial CNS biopharma with approved drugs including Nuplazid for Parkinson's disease psychosis. Comparable in CNS indication overlap (PD) with established neurology commercial infrastructure CuraSen would need to build.

Emerging players

• Voyager Therapeutics: Clinical-stage gene therapy company developing AAV-based treatments for CNS indications including Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's. Comparable in CNS indication overlap (PD/AD) but with different modality (gene therapy vs. small molecules).
• Vigil Neuroscience: Clinical-stage company developing therapeutics for rare and common neurodegenerative diseases, including small molecule TREM2 agonists. Comparable in CNS small molecule focus and AD/rare neurodegenerative disease strategy at similar clinical stage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/curaseninc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors9 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CuraSen Therapeutics