Zylö Therapeutics

What Zylö Therapeutics does

Zylö Therapeutics Inc. is a privately held drug-delivery platform company headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. The company is built around Z-pods®, its proprietary engineered amorphous silica particle technology originally developed at Albert Einstein College of Medicine by Co-Scientific Founders Joel Friedman MD PhD and Adam Friedman MD. Z-pods® are designed to encapsulate a diverse range of compounds (small organics, siRNA, peptides) and provide sustained release for up to 24 hours, more than double bioavailability versus bolus formulations, embed deeply into the stratum corneum and follicular units, and improve solubility by nearly 20-fold (e.g., 0.3% to over 5.0%).

The company operates a dual business model: (1) a B2B technology licensing and co-development platform serving pharmaceutical, OTC, cosmetics, and animal health companies through direct enterprise partnerships and CMO/CDMO embedding of Z-pods into creams, lotions, serums, and foams; and (2) internal therapeutic development using non-dilutive NIH grant funding across multiple indications including erectile dysfunction (topical PDE5i formulation for PDE5-refractory patients, addressable market cited at over $2B/year in the U.S.), cutaneous lupus (AEA-loaded Z-pods with University of Pennsylvania), onychomycosis (NO-releasing Z-pods), wound healing, and chronic rhinosinusitis. The company has also entered joint ventures (Silo Pharma for sustained-release ketamine) and spun out Atticus Pharma in 2024 to commercialize an androgenetic alopecia product (ATC-002) with a planned IND submission in early 2027.

Zylö has raised approximately $9.225 million in equity across a $4 million Series A (2019, led by VentureSouth) and a $5.225 million Series B (2022, led by VentureSouth), supplemented by roughly $3.4 million in NIH SBIR/STTR grants. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and contracts are custom B2B arrangements. The company operates a single facility combining headquarters, laboratory, and manufacturing at 105A Ben Hamby Rd., Greenville, SC 29615, and is led by CEO & Founder Scott R. Pancoast with CFO Charles E. Hinkle and VP of Product Development Andrew Draganski PhD.

Name

Zylö Therapeutics

Legal name

Zylö Therapeutics Inc.

Website

https://zylotherapeutics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Zylö Therapeutics is a Greenville, SC-based drug-delivery platform company commercializing Z-pods®, proprietary amorphous silica particles that provide sustained release and enhanced bioavailability for topical and transdermal applications, serving pharmaceutical, OTC, cosmetics, and animal health partners via B2B licensing and co-development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pharmaceutical Drug Delivery

NAICS

Resin and Synthetic Rubber Manufacturing (32521), Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (3254)

SIC

Plastic Materials, Synth Resins & Nonvulcan Elastomers (2821)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Polymers & Resins (Engineered Materials) (IMAEABAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Livestock & Production Animal Therapeutics (Rx) (HLAMAEAB), Companion Animal Therapeutics (Rx) (HLAMAEAA)

Keywords

• Sustained-release drug delivery
• Topical drug delivery
• Amorphous silica particles
• Transdermal delivery platform
• Pharmaceutical formulation technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenville

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, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Technology Licensing and Partnership Deals: Zylö licenses its Z-pod technology to pharmaceutical, OTC, cosmetics, and animal health companies. Revenue is generated through licensing fees, development partnerships, and potentially royalty arrangements based on partner product commercialization.
2. Grant Funding: Significant non-dilutive funding from NIH and DoD grants to advance specific therapeutic programs including erectile dysfunction, cutaneous lupus, nail fungus, wound management, and COVID-19 treatments.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Zylö Therapeutics develops and licenses Z-pods®, a proprietary platform of highly engineered amorphous silica particles that encapsulate and deliver active pharmaceutical and cosmetic ingredients with sustained release (up to 24 hours), enhanced bioavailability, and targeted delivery into the stratum corneum and follicular units. The company partners with pharmaceutical, OTC, cosmetics, and animal health firms to embed Z-pod technology into their products, and pursues internal therapeutic programs in dermatology, erectile dysfunction, lupus, and wound care.

Product overview

Zylö Therapeutics is a drug delivery platform company built around its proprietary Z-pods® technology. The core offering is the Z-pods® amorphous silica particle system, which enables sustained release (up to 24 hours), enhanced bioavailability, and targeted follicular delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Multiple therapeutic applications have been developed using this platform including: AEA-loaded Z-pods® for cutaneous lupus, nitric oxide-releasing Z-pods® for acne and fungal infections, topical PDE5i formulations for erectile dysfunction, and sustained-release ketamine via a joint venture with Silo Pharma. The company operates as both a technology licensor (partnering with pharma, OTC, cosmetics, and animal health companies) and a therapeutic developer.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Z-pods® Amorphous Silica Delivery Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 2X bioavailability improvement in CBD and AEA formulations compared to bolus doses
• +4 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Victoria Werth MD (University of Pennsylvania)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 May 2023Co-PI on $300,000 NIH Phase I grant for endocannabinoid microparticle formulation for cutaneous lupus treatment. Dr. Werth is Professor of Dermatology and a foremost lupus authority.
• Silo PharmamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 April 2021Joint venture to develop sustained-release ketamine using Z-pod technology for transdermal time-release applications. Zylö's technology advances Silo's vision of bringing ground-breaking therapeutics to patients.
• HOTH TherapeuticsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Strategic equity investment and expanded partnership involving Anandamide-loaded Z-pods to treat cutaneous lupus. Ongoing collaboration for dermatological applications.
• Atticus PharmamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpin-off from Zylö Therapeutics developing ATC-002 for androgenetic alopecia using Z-pod technology. CEO Leigh Hsu, former Acadia Pharmaceuticals executive. Plans IND submission in early 2027.
• Albert Einstein College of MedicinecoreTechnology or IntegrationZ-pod technology originally developed at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Ongoing collaboration with researchers including Joel Friedman MD PhD, Kelvin Davies PhD, and Waleed Abuzeid MD.
• Kelvin Davies PhD (Einstein College of Medicine)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-PI on multiple NIH grants for erectile dysfunction research. Professor of Urology and Physiology and Biophysics at Einstein College.
• Josh Nosanchuk MD (Einstein College of Medicine)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborator on $600,000 NIH grant for nitric oxide releasing microparticle treatment for onychomycosis (nail fungus).

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lipocine: Lipocine operates a B2B drug delivery platform that licenses its lipid-based technology to pharma partners and develops its own therapeutics, mirroring Zylö's licensing-and-pipeline dual model. Both companies focus on solving bioavailability and formulation challenges for poorly soluble actives.
• Vyne Therapeutics: Vyne Therapeutics is a specialty dermatology company developing topical therapies with proprietary delivery approaches for inflammatory skin conditions. It overlaps directly with Zylö's dermatology-focused Z-pod applications (lupus, acne, fungal infections, wound care).
• Heron Therapeutics: Heron is a specialty pharma company whose core value proposition is sustained-release delivery technology applied across multiple therapeutic areas. Zylö's Z-pod platform and Heron's polymer-based sustained-release platforms address the same unmet need of longer-acting, better-tolerated injectable and topical drugs.
• Sol-Gel Technologies: Sol-Gel is a specialty dermatology company built on proprietary silica-based microencapsulation delivery technology, very similar in concept to Zylö's Z-pods. Both license delivery platforms to dermatology and consumer health partners and pursue proprietary topical therapeutics, making Sol-Gel the closest publicly traded comparable.
• Liquidia Technologies: Liquidia commercializes PRINT, an engineered-particle drug delivery platform for inhaled and other specialty therapeutics. Like Zylö, the company has built a proprietary particle technology and applies it across multiple therapeutic and partner opportunities.

Emerging players

• Timber Pharmaceuticals: Timber Pharmaceuticals is a small clinical-stage dermatology company developing topical formulations for rare skin diseases, comparable to Zylö's earlier-stage lupus and onychomycosis programs. Both operate in specialty dermatology with limited capital and partner-driven business models.
• NanoSphere Health Sciences: NanoSphere Health Sciences is a smaller, earlier-stage company developing nanoparticle delivery systems for cannabinoids and other actives in the consumer health/cosmeceuticals space. It is comparable to Zylö's cosmeceutical and OTC applications of Z-pod technology.

Broad incumbents

• Dechra Pharmaceuticals: Dechra is an established specialty animal health pharmaceutical company with a strong dermatology and companion-animal portfolio. As Zylö has identified animal health as one of its four target segments, Dechra represents a likely acquirer or licensee for Z-pod-enabled veterinary products.
• Noven Pharmaceuticals: Noven, a subsidiary of Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical, is an established transdermal drug delivery company with a broad portfolio of patch-based products. As a large incumbent in the topical/transdermal delivery space, Noven represents the type of scaled player Zylö could be acquired by or partner with as the Z-pod platform matures.

Regional players

• Acrux: Acrux is an Australia-based specialty pharma with a proprietary topical drug delivery platform (Aerosol-Delivery) used to develop and license dermatology products. It mirrors Zylö's asset-light, licensing-focused model in the topical delivery category but operates primarily in non-US geographies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ZyloTherapeutics
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/zylo-therapeutics-2721a5156

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors10 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 Zylö Therapeutics