GUSKA

What GUSKA does

GUSKA is a privately-held Uruguayan biotechnology company headquartered in Montevideo that develops synthetic RNA oncolytic virus therapies designed to treat solid tumors. The company's core technology is a platform that engineers RNA-based oncolytic viruses to selectively target and destroy cancer cells while preserving healthy tissue and stimulating a robust anti-tumor immune response, positioning the approach as a dual-mechanism alternative to traditional chemotherapy and radiation. The product is investigational and pre-clinical, with no disclosed patents, clinical trial data, or regulatory filings in the available source material.

The company was founded in 2024 by three co-founders — Nicolás Tambucho (CEO), Gonzalo Moratorio (Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer), and Pilar Moreno (Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer) — along with Senior Business Advisor Antonio Borderia and a bench-science team of five LAB staff with backgrounds in biochemistry, biology, and biotechnology engineering. Co-founder Gonzalo Moratorio brings notable scientific credibility, having been recognized by Nature in 2020 as one of the ten most prominent scientists of the year for his work on COVID-19 diagnostics in Uruguay.

GUSKA's business model is pre-commercial: the company generates no revenue, has not established pricing, and has no disclosed licensing or partnership income. Its go-to-market is structured around early-stage research and development within the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo ecosystem, with financing and institutional support provided by LAB+ (Laboratorio de Innovación en Biomedicina del Institut Pasteur de Montevideo), which selected GUSKA as one of four scientific startups for its accelerator program in February 2024. The company is targeting cancer patients with solid tumors as the end-user use case, with horizontal segmentation by therapeutic indication rather than by payer, geography, or provider segment.

Name

GUSKA

Legal name

Guska

Website

https://guska.bio/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GUSKA is a Uruguay-based pre-clinical biotech developing synthetic RNA oncolytic virus therapies that selectively target solid tumors and stimulate anti-tumor immune response. Founded in 2024, the company operates within the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo ecosystem and is currently pre-revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oncolytic Virus Immunotherapy

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

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

akta.pro secondary industries

mRNA Therapeutics (vaccines, protein replacement, immuno-oncology) (HLAAADAA), Gene Therapy CMC/Process Development Platforms (capsid engineering, producer cell lines, plasmids, upstream/downstream) (HLAAACAN), Non-viral Gene Delivery & Gene Therapy (LNP, polymers, electroporation, physical methods) (HLAAACAC)

Keywords

• Oncolytic virus therapy
• RNA cancer immunotherapy
• Solid tumor treatment
• Oncology biotechnology
• Immunostimulatory therapeutics

Headquarters

HQ city

Montevideo

HQ country

Uruguay

HQ region

Latin America

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. Therapeutic Development Revenue: Pre-revenue biotech company focused on developing oncolytic virus-based cancer therapies. Revenue model not yet established as the company is in development stage.

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

GUSKA is developing a single core therapeutic platform: synthetic RNA oncolytic virus therapy designed to deliver potent and safe immunostimulatory effects for cancer treatment. The therapy uses engineered synthetic RNA viruses to directly target and eliminate cancer cells while preserving healthy tissue, and simultaneously stimulates a robust immune response against tumors. The company is in pre-clinical/development stage with no commercial product or established revenue model.

Product overview

GUSKA is developing a single core product: Synthetic RNA Oncolytic Virus Therapy. This oncolytic virus-based cancer therapy uses synthetic RNA viruses engineered to directly target and destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue, offering a more effective and less harmful alternative to traditional cancer treatments. The therapy also stimulates the immune system to mount a robust anti-tumor response.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Synthetic RNA Oncolytic Virus Therapy

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Institut Pasteur de MontevideocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGuska is part of the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo ecosystem. The company is located at the Institut Pasteur and participates in their startup acceleration programs. Gonzalo Moratorio and Pilar Moreno have recognition tiles (baldosas de reconocimiento) installed on the Peatonal Sarandí in recognition of their scientific contributions.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• PsiOxus Therapeutics: PsiOxus is developing oncolytic virus immunotherapies, notably enadenotucirev and the NG-350A armed oncolytic adenovirus, making it a direct engineered oncolytic virus peer with a similar solid tumor focus.
• Replimune: Replimune develops engineered oncolytic immunotherapies (RP1, RP2, RP3) for solid tumors, making it a direct comparable to Guska's synthetic RNA oncolytic virus platform targeting solid tumors with dual lysis-plus-immune stimulation.
• Genelux Corporation: Genelux develops oncolytic vaccinia and other virus-based cancer therapies (e.g., Olvi-Vec) with both direct oncolytic and immune-stimulatory mechanisms, paralleling Guska's dual-action platform design.
• Oncorus: Oncorus is developing intratumorally and intravenously administered oncolytic herpes virus immunotherapies for solid tumors, directly comparable to Guska in modality (engineered oncolytic virus), target (solid tumors), and mechanism (oncolysis + immune activation).
• Turnstone Biologics: Turnstone Biologics develops oncolytic virus immunotherapies (e.g., TBio-6517) combined with tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte approaches for solid tumors, sharing Guska's dual-mechanism positioning of oncolysis plus immune activation.
• Vyriad: Vyriad develops engineered RNA virus-based oncolytic virotherapies (e.g., measles-derived and VSV-based platforms) for cancer, with an RNA virus focus that closely mirrors Guska's synthetic RNA oncolytic virus approach.
• Targovax: Targovax develops oncolytic virus immunotherapies (e.g., ONCOS-102, an adenovirus-based therapy) for solid tumors, sharing Guska's approach of using engineered viruses to selectively kill cancer cells and stimulate antitumor immunity.

Emerging players

• Sorrento Therapeutics: Sorrento has pursued multiple oncolytic virus programs (including Seprehvir and other immuno-oncology combinations); while its portfolio is broader than Guska's, its oncolytic virus efforts are a comparable emerging parallel in the same therapeutic class.
• Lokon Pharma: Lokon Pharma is an emerging clinical-stage developer of oncolytic adenoviruses (e.g., LocoVactia), making it a comparable emerging player with overlapping oncolytic virus modality but focused on adenoviral rather than RNA-based delivery.

Broad incumbents

• Amgen (Imlygic / talimogene laherparepvec): Amgen markets Imlygic, the first FDA-approved oncolytic virus therapy for melanoma, and is a broad incumbent in oncology; while not a direct RNA-virus peer, it sets the regulatory and competitive benchmark for any new oncolytic virus entrant including Guska.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 GUSKA