Keystone Nano, Inc.

What Keystone Nano, Inc. does

Keystone Nano, Inc. (operating as PendreaBio) is a privately-held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing nano-therapeutics for cancer treatment. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, the company has built three technology platforms around its proprietary NanoJackets calcium-phosphate nanoparticle delivery system and its lead asset Ceraxa, a nanoliposomal C-6 ceramide formulation. The pipeline includes Ceraxa (Phase 1 completed, Phase 2 in preparation), Photo Immuno Nano Therapy (PINT), and an RNA therapeutics delivery platform leveraging NanoJackets for siRNA, miRNA, and mRNA delivery. Ceraxa is positioned as the only known method to deliver ceramide pharmacologically and is designed to restore efficacy of standard-of-care chemotherapeutics in relapsed and refractory solid tumors and AML, while PINT combines indocyanine green encapsulated in NanoJackets with near-infrared light to drive photo dynamic therapy and T-cell activation. The NanoJackets platform is presented as a biocompatible alternative to lipid nanoparticle (LNP) RNA delivery, positioned to avoid LNP-associated toxicities.

The company operates a pre-revenue clinical-development business model with the stated intent to carry selected product candidates through Phase 2 efficacy testing before pursuing partnership-based commercialization, while viewing earlier-stage assets as potential partnering opportunities. Phase 2 trial design uses an adaptive basket approach testing Ceraxa in combination with approved chemotherapeutics across multiple solid tumor indications. Clinical execution is conducted through academic medical centers including University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Virginia Emily Couric Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina Hollings Cancer Center, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The company has raised approximately $15.5 million cumulatively, including a $2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, and is led by CEO Jeff Davidson with co-founder James Adair, Ph.D. serving as Chief Science Officer.

Name

Keystone Nano, Inc.

Legal name

Keystone Nano, Inc.

Website

https://pendreabio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Keystone Nano (operating as PendreaBio) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing nano-therapeutics for cancer, with lead candidate Ceraxa (a ceramide nanoliposome) advancing to Phase 2 trials in relapsed/refractory solid tumors and AML, supported by its NanoJackets calcium-phosphate delivery platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cancer Therapeutics

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Protein Interaction & Structural Biology Platforms (cryo-EM, X-ray, NMR, biophysics) (HLAAAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Oncology Gene Therapies (incl. oncolytic vectors & gene-modified approaches) (HLAAACAF)

Keywords

• Cancer therapeutics
• Nanoparticle drug delivery
• Liposomal ceramide therapy
• RNA therapeutics platform
• Photo dynamic therapy

Headquarters

HQ city

State College

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

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical product development and commercialization: As a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, Keystone Nano/Pendrea is developing cancer therapeutics (Ceraxa, PINT, RNA Therapeutics) with plans to advance products through Phase 2 testing before seeking partnerships for commercialization. The company intends to partner selected product candidates while retaining and developing others through to approval.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Core offering

Keystone Nano, Inc. (operating as PendreaBio) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing proprietary nanoparticle-based cancer therapeutics. Its lead product, Ceraxa, is a PEGylated nanoliposomal formulation delivering C-6 ceramide intracellularly to restore chemotherapeutic efficacy and activate immune response in relapsed/refractory solid tumors. The pipeline also includes Photo Immuno Nano Therapy (PINT), which uses indocyanine green encapsulated in calcium-phosphate NanoJackets activated by near-infrared light, and an RNA Therapeutics platform delivering siRNA, miRNA, and mRNA via the same NanoJackets delivery system.

Product overview

Keystone Nano, Inc. (operating as PendreaBio) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing three distinct technology platforms for cancer treatment. The core product offerings consist of Ceraxa (a nanoliposomal ceramide formulation), Photo Immuno Nano Therapy (PINT, using indocyanine green in NanoJackets), and RNA Therapeutics (delivering siRNA, miRNA, and mRNA via NanoJackets). All three technologies leverage the company's proprietary NanoJackets platform—biocompatible calcium-phosphate nanoparticles—as either the delivery mechanism (for PINT and RNA Therapeutics) or as the product formulation itself (for Ceraxa). Ceraxa has completed Phase 1 clinical trials and is advancing to Phase 2 testing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ceraxa: Nanoliposome with C-6 ceramide embedded in outer membrane; lead product for cancer treatment
• Photo Immuno Nano Therapy (PINT)
• NanoJackets
• RNA Therapeutics
• Ceraxa Plus

Products and services

• Ceraxa

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% increase in survival in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) model as monotherapy
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• University of VirginiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating with University of Virginia on the development and clinical testing of Ceraxa therapy for AML. The collaboration involves the University of Virginia Emily Couric Cancer Center as a clinical trial site in the Phase 1 study of Ceraxa.
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating with Memorial Sloan Kettering on the development and clinical testing of Ceraxa therapy for AML.
• University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhase 1 clinical trial site for Ceraxa monotherapy study in solid tumors. The trial confirmed safety and pharmacokinetics in a multi-dose escalation study.
• Medical University of South Carolina Hollings Cancer CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhase 1 clinical trial site for Ceraxa monotherapy study in solid tumors.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Celsion Corporation: Clinical-stage oncology company developing liposome- and heat-activated nanomedicines (e.g., ThermoDox) for solid tumors. Closely comparable in scale and stage: small-cap, nanoparticle-based cancer therapeutic platform with completed Phase 1/2 trials in refractory settings.
• Nanospectra Biosciences: Develops gold-silica nanoshells (AuroLase) for thermal ablation of solid tumors via nanoparticle-mediated therapy. Comparable as a small-cap clinical-stage developer of nanoparticle-based oncology therapeutics, with platform technology analogous to NanoJackets.
• Selecta Biosciences: Clinical-stage biotech developing synthetic nanoparticles (ImmTOR) for immune tolerance and biologic delivery, including for oncology and gene therapy applications. Comparable as a nanoparticle-platform company developing biologic and RNA therapeutics with a similar translational focus.
• Bio-Path Holdings: Clinical-stage oncology biotech developing liposomal DNA therapeutics (prexigebersen) for blood cancers and solid tumors. Closely analogous to Pendrea in scale, stage, and lipid-nanoparticle-based oncology drug development approach.

Emerging players

• MiNA Therapeutics: Clinical-stage developer of RNA activation therapeutics for cancer and liver disease. Directly comparable to Pendrea's RNA Therapeutics program given both leverage RNA biology for oncology, though MiNA focuses on saRNA rather than siRNA/miRNA/mRNA delivery.
• Lipocine: Specialty pharmaceutical company developing lipid-based oral drug delivery systems. Comparable to Pendrea's lipid-nanoparticle expertise (Ceraxa nanoliposome) though focused on oral rather than injectable oncology delivery.
• Arcturus Therapeutics: Clinical-stage RNA medicines company with proprietary lipid nanoparticle delivery and self-amplifying mRNA platforms. Comparable to Pendrea's RNA Therapeutics and NanoJackets delivery programs, with deeper clinical traction (approved product Kostaive).
• Phio Pharmaceuticals: Clinical-stage company developing RNAi therapeutics (INTASYL platform) for immuno-oncology. Comparable as a small-cap developer of nucleic acid-based cancer therapies and an analog to Pendrea's siRNA-NanoJackets program.

Broad incumbents

• BioNTech: Commercial-stage mRNA company with oncology and infectious disease pipelines using LNP-based delivery. Comparable as a broad incumbent validating the RNA therapeutics space and the primary competitor Pendrea must differentiate against in oncology applications.
• Moderna: Commercial-stage mRNA therapeutics leader with proprietary LNP delivery technology. Sets the competitive benchmark for Pendrea's RNA Therapeutics platform and represents both the largest competitor and a potential partner/acquirer in non-vaccine RNA delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/keystonenano
• Facebookfacebook.com/157245347641703
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1929570

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Keystone Nano, Inc.