Cycuria Therapeutics

What Cycuria Therapeutics does

Cycuria Therapeutics is a preclinical biotechnology company developing first-in-class engineered protein-based targeted therapies for hematological malignancies and other hard-to-treat cancers. Founded in 2024 and headquartered at the Center for Knowledge Transfer II (ZWT II) in Graz, Austria, the company is led by Co-Founder and CEO Dr. Nisit Khandelwal (previously founder of iOmx Therapeutics, which raised over €110 million) and Inventor and Co-Founder Prof. Dr. Philipp J. Jost (Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Medical University of Graz).

The company's core technology is a proprietary cytokine engineering platform that leverages the natural tumor-suppressing mechanism of lymphotoxin alpha (LTα) to selectively induce inflammatory cell death in leukemic stem and progenitor cells while preserving healthy hematopoiesis. Its lead asset, CUR-101, is a protein-based therapeutic targeting acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with potential expansion into additional hematological and solid tumor indications. Scientific validation has been established through peer-reviewed publications in Nature, Cancer Cell, and Science Translational Medicine (November 2025) demonstrating efficacy in mouse AML models.

Cycuria's business model is structured as a preclinical asset-development and licensing platform. As a pre-revenue company with 1–10 employees, it is currently funded by non-dilutive grants from Austrian government agencies (AWS, FFG, SFG) and an investment from Wieland Capital, a life sciences-focused family office. Future revenue is anticipated through licensing agreements or partnerships with larger biopharmaceutical companies upon advancement of CUR-101 through IND-enabling studies and clinical development, with no commercial product currently on market.

Name

Cycuria Therapeutics

Legal name

Cycuria Therapeutics GmbH

Website

https://cycuria.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cycuria Therapeutics is a preclinical Austrian biotech developing engineered protein-based targeted therapies, anchored by lead asset CUR-101 for acute myeloid leukemia using a proprietary lymphotoxin alpha cytokine platform that selectively targets leukemic cells while preserving healthy hematopoiesis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oncology Biologics

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Recombinant Protein Therapeutics (enzymes, hormones, growth factors) (HLAAAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Lead Optimization & Preclinical Candidate Selection (HLAIALAB)

Keywords

• Protein-based therapeutics
• Acute myeloid leukemia
• Biologic drug development
• Cytokine engineering
• Preclinical oncology

Headquarters

HQ city

Graz

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Biopharmaceutical Development: As a preclinical biotech company, Cycuria is in the early-stage drug development phase. The company is focused on advancing its lead therapeutic program CUR-101 through preclinical development. Revenue generation is anticipated through licensing agreements, partnerships with larger pharmaceutical companies, or potential acquisition. Currently pre-revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cycuria Therapeutics develops novel engineered protein-based targeted biologics that selectively eliminate leukemic stem and progenitor cells while preserving healthy blood formation. The lead asset, CUR-101, is in preclinical development for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and uses an inflammatory cell death pathway mediated by lymphotoxin alpha. The platform enables the engineering of cytokine-based therapies with enhanced selectivity, extended half-life, and minimal systemic toxicity, with intended expansion into additional blood cancers and solid tumors.

Product overview

Cycuria Therapeutics is a preclinical biotech company developing a first-in-class protein-based therapeutic pipeline anchored by its lead asset CUR-101 for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The company's proprietary cytokine engineering platform enables the development of engineered biologics that selectively target leukemic cells and their progenitor stem cells while preserving healthy hematopoiesis. CUR-101 represents the company's lead clinical candidate, with the platform technology serving as the foundation for potential expansion into other hematological cancers and solid tumor indications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CUR-101 CUR-101 is Cycuria's lead preclinical engineered cytokine therapy candidate for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). It selectively induces death and differentiation of leukemic tumor cells and their progenitor stem cells while preserving healthy hematopoiesis, and is also being explored for additional blood and solid cancer indications.

Quantifiable outcome

• Treatment with exogenous recombinant LTα3 induced cell death of AML progenitors and resulted in remission in mouse AML models, without cytotoxicity to healthy hematopoiesis

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Medical University of Graz (Med Uni Graz)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership with Medical University of Graz, the home institution of Cycuria's scientific founder Prof. Dr. Philipp Jost who serves as Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center and full Professor for Clinical Oncology.
• Technical University of Munich (TUM) KlinikumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with TUM Klinikum, linked to the scientific background of the founding team.
• University of HeidelbergcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership with University of Heidelberg, Germany, associated with Prof. Dr. Philipp Jost's research background.
• ZWT Graz (Zentrum für Wissenstransfer II)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for Cycuria's headquarters at the Center for Knowledge Transfer II in Graz, Austria.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• iOmx Therapeutics: Founded by Cycuria CEO Dr. Nisit Khandelwal in 2016, iOmx is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing novel checkpoint modulators. It is the most direct comparable for Cycuria in terms of modality (engineered biologics targeting immune evasion) and founder DNA.
• Medicenna Therapeutics: Clinical-stage developer of engineered cytokines (Superkines/IL-2/IL-4/IL-13 variants) for oncology. Closely aligned with Cycuria in using protein-engineered cytokines to selectively target cancer while sparing healthy tissue.
• Werewolf Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech built around the INDUKINE platform of tumor-conditionally activated cytokines. Highly comparable to Cycuria's engineered cytokine approach and broad oncology pipeline strategy.
• Bolt Biotherapeutics: Clinical-stage developer of immune-stimulating antibody conjugates (ISACs) that combine tumor-targeted antibodies with immune stimulation, conceptually adjacent to Cycuria's strategy of combining direct tumor targeting with immune activation.
• Aprea Therapeutics: Clinical-stage oncology company focused on reactivation of p53 tumor suppressor, with lead programs in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and AML — directly overlapping Cycuria's hematological malignancy focus area.

Broad incumbents

• F-star Therapeutics: Clinical-stage bispecific antibody company of which Cycuria corporate advisor John Haurum was previously CEO. Operates in the broader engineered-biologics-for-oncology space and provides a relevant comparator for Cycuria's scale-up path.

Emerging players

• CytomX Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech whose Probody platform enables conditional activation of antibodies in the tumor microenvironment. Comparable to Cycuria in its use of protein engineering to achieve tumor selectivity.
• Affimed: Clinical-stage developer of innate cell engagers (ICE) that redirect innate immunity against cancer, conceptually adjacent to Cycuria's strategy of selectively engaging immune mechanisms against leukemic cells.
• Foghorn Therapeutics: Clinical-stage oncology company developing medicines targeting chromatin regulatory biology. Relevant peer given Cycuria's positioning within innovative early-stage hematological cancer modalities and emerging clinical biotech space.
• Pyxis Oncology: Clinical-stage oncology company developing antibody-drug conjugates and immunotherapies. Comparable to Cycuria as a platform-based biotech developing engineered biologics for hematological and solid tumors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cycuria

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Cycuria Therapeutics