What Skin2Neuron does

Skin2Neuron (S2N) is a preclinical-stage Australian regenerative-medicine company developing autologous cell therapies derived from Hair Follicle-derived Neuroprecursor (HFN) cells. Founded in 2019 as a spin-out of the University of Sydney, the company is based in Surry Hills, Sydney and operates with a team of 1–10 people. Its lead therapeutic target is Alzheimer's dementia, with secondary applications across Parkinson's disease, Epilepsy and Huntington's disease. The core technology exploits HFN cells that are 100% natural, unipotent (only capable of becoming neurons), and require no genetic modification — a meaningful structural difference from induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) approaches. S2N's proprietary manufacturing process isolates, purifies and expands HFNs from a patient's own hair follicle to produce personalized cell batches, with a cGMP-compatible workflow delivering >90% purity and <10% line-to-line variability against FDA-aligned Critical Quality Attributes.

The company's product portfolio spans (i) the HFN autologous cell therapy for Alzheimer's dementia as the core program, (ii) Gabergic HFN-derived neurons as a research-grade cell line for drug discovery and disease modelling (targeting psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia), and (iii) the Function Cloud wearable system for behavioral measurement in clinical trials, under exclusive access for veterinary and human use. Proof-of-concept has been demonstrated in the world-first DOGS+CELLS Phase I/II veterinary trial, where the majority of treated dogs with canine dementia returned to normal function and hippocampal synapses increased several-fold despite confirmed amyloid and tau pathology.

Commercially, S2N is pre-revenue. Capital has been sourced exclusively from non-dilutive grants — A$2M from the NSW Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer (April 2024) and A$2.4M from the CUREator+ biomedtech incubator (September 2024) — rather than from institutional venture capital. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and commercial engagement runs through a direct "Book a Meeting" outreach mechanism targeting research institutions, pharmaceutical partners, and investors. Future revenue mechanics are expected to bifurcate between sale of customized neuronal cell lines to research buyers and, on a longer horizon, commercialization of autologous cell therapy products pending clinical trial outcomes and regulatory approval. Distribution today runs through partnership-based engagement with research groups exploring HFN trials in neurodegenerative disease models.

Name

Skin2Neuron

Legal name

Skin2Neuron Pty Ltd

Website

https://s2n.bio

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Skin2Neuron is a preclinical Australian biotech developing autologous, gene-modification-free cell therapies from hair follicle-derived neuroprecursors to treat Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, with a research-grade neuronal product line and a wearable behavioral measurement system.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cell Therapy

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Cell Therapy Developers (Autologous) (HLAAABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Neural & Spinal Cord Regeneration (HLAAAGAI), Neurology & CNS Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAC), Neurologic & Spinal Regeneration (HLAMANAH)

Keywords

• Autologous cell therapy
• Regenerative medicine biotechnology
• Neuronal cell culture products
• Neurodegenerative disease therapeutics
• Stem cell manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Cell Therapy Development and Commercialization: S2N is developing autologous HFN cell therapy for Alzheimer's dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions. Revenue will be generated through therapeutic product commercialization pending successful clinical trials and regulatory approval.
2. Customized Neuronal Cell Cultures: First commercial product under development is gabergic HFN-derived neurons for use in drug discovery, toxicity testing, disease modelling and basic science. Revenue stream from sale of customized neuronal lines to research institutions and pharmaceutical companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Skin2Neuron develops autologous cell therapy products derived from Hair Follicle-derived Neuroprecursor (HFN) cells, with the lead therapeutic targeting Alzheimer's dementia by regenerating lost neurons and synapses in the hippocampus. The company's proprietary process isolates, purifies, and expands unipotent HFNs from a patient's own hair follicle—no genetic modification required—producing personalized batches of cells. In parallel, Skin2Neuron is developing customized neuronal cell lines (starting with GABAergic HFN-derived neurons) for sale to pharmaceutical companies and research institutions for drug discovery, toxicity testing, disease modeling, and basic science applications.

Product overview

Skin2Neuron is a regenerative medicine company developing a portfolio of cell therapy and research products based on Hair Follicle-derived Neuroprecursor (HFN) technology. The core product is an autologous HFN cell therapy for Alzheimer dementia, which involves harvesting cells from a patient's own hair follicle, expanding them without genetic modification, and microinjecting them into the hippocampus to restore neurons and synapses. The company is also developing Gabergic HFN-Derived Neurons as its first commercial product for drug discovery and disease modeling applications. Supporting these therapeutics is Function Cloud, a proprietary wearable device system for movement tracking in clinical trials. The pipeline includes veterinary applications through the DOGS+CELLS Trial, which has demonstrated proof-of-concept in naturally occurring canine dementia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HFN Cell Therapy for Alzheimer's Dementia Autologous regenerative cell therapy using Hair Follicle-derived Neuroprecursor (HFN) cells derived from a patient's own hair follicle, expanded without genetic modification and microinjected into the hippocampus to reverse neuronal loss and restore synaptic function. Lead therapeutic target is Alzheimer's dementia.
• GABAergic HFN-Derived Neurons Customized neuronal cell line derived from HFNs specifically differentiated into GABAergic neurons for use in drug discovery, toxicity testing, disease modeling, and basic science research. First commercial product under development, targeting GABAergic neuronal dysfunction central to psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia.
• Function Cloud Wearable Behavioral Tracking System Wearable device system that tracks human or pet movement around the home for precise behavioral measurement in clinical trials. Skin2Neuron has exclusive access for large-animal veterinary trials and future human trials, with machine learning algorithms extracting clinically-relevant features from movement data.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reversal of dementia-like syndrome in pet dogs with majority returning to normal function
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and foundational.

• FPA Patent AttorneyscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerS2N works closely with Dr Adam Denley (Principal), Dr Sarah Hennebry (Senior Associate) and Dr Kieran Williams (Principal) at FPA who manage S2N's IP portfolio including HFN technology patents.
• Function Cloud TechnologycoreTechnology or IntegrationS2N has exclusive access to Function Cloud wearable technology for its large-animal veterinary trials and future human trials. Function Cloud is an all-new wearable device system that tracks movement around the home for precise behavioral measurement in clinical trials.
• University of SydneyfoundationalStrategic or Co-development PartnerS2N was spun out of the University of Sydney in 2019 based on biomedical discovery by Prof Valenzuela and his team. Ongoing relationship for research collaboration and academic partnerships.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Aspen Neuroscience: Aspen is developing autologous iPSC-derived dopaminergic neuron replacement therapy for Parkinson's disease. Highly comparable in autologous cell-therapy modality, CNS indication focus, and preclinical-to-IND stage.
• BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics: BrainStorm's NurOwn is an autologous MSC-based cell therapy for ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. Directly comparable autologous cell-therapy developer with overlapping CNS indications and similar regulatory stage.
• Cynata Therapeutics: ASX-listed Australian stem cell therapy developer using a proprietary MSC platform (Cymerus) for inflammatory and immune conditions. Comparable as an Australian-domiciled, publicly-listed cell therapy peer advancing toward clinical trials.
• BlueRock Therapeutics: BlueRock (acquired by Bayer for up to $1B) develops iPSC-derived dopaminergic neuron cell therapies for Parkinson's disease — the closest direct competitor to S2N's autologous cell therapy approach in CNS, serving overlapping neurodegenerative indications with a similar product mechanism.

Broad incumbents

• Mesoblast: ASX-listed Australian regenerative medicine company commercialising remestemcel-L (allogeneic MSC) for inflammatory conditions. Operates in the same autologous/allogeneic cell therapy space with broader portfolio and earlier commercial stage.
• Biogen: Global biopharmaceutical company that developed Aduhelm and co-developed Leqembi for Alzheimer's — S2N's CEO Dr Boot led clinical development on these very programs at Mass General Brigham. Represents the incumbent Big Pharma player in S2N's lead indication.
• Eisai: Japanese pharma that co-developed Leqembi with Biogen for Alzheimer's disease. S2N's CEO Dr Boot led Leqembi clinical development. Incumbent in the same neurodegenerative disease space S2N targets.

Others

• Voyager Therapeutics: Clinical-stage gene therapy company developing CNS-targeted AAV therapies (VY-AADC01 for Parkinson's). S2N CEO Dr Boot previously led clinical development on Voyager's VY-AADC01. Comparable as an adjacent CNS modality developer with shared leadership history.

Regional players

• Avita Medical: ASX/NASDAQ-listed Australian regenerative medicine company (formerly Clinical Cell Culture) commercialising RECELL spray-on skin cells. S2N acting COO Helen Wray previously held executive roles there; comparable Australian-domiciliated cell therapy commercialiser.
• AdAlta: ASX-listed Australian biotech developing i-body protein therapeutics for fibrosis and inflammatory diseases. Regional peer in the Australian biotech ecosystem with similar preclinical/early-clinical stage profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Skin2Neuron