Xycota Biosciences

What Xycota Biosciences does

Xycota Biosciences, LLC is a preclinical precision CNS biotechnology company headquartered in Sheridan, Wyoming. Founded in 2025 by Dr. Marvin S. Hausman, MD (Founder and CSO) and Brad Listermann (President and Co-Founder), the company is engineering exosome-based drug delivery systems to enable targeted neuroplasticity therapeutics. Its lead asset XYCO-01 is an exosome-formulated psilocin candidate targeting Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) via the BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway, with the company pursuing FDA Orphan Drug Designation. The pipeline also includes XYCO-02 (5-MeO-DMT in early evaluation) and XYCO-03 (a future combined platform concept), targeting expansion indications including mild traumatic brain injury, ALS, and memory care.

The company's core technical approach combines proprietary exosome delivery with active moiety formulations (psilocin) to drive structural neuroplasticity and endogenous synaptogenesis while bypassing blood-brain barrier first-pass metabolism and 5-HT2A hallucinogenic receptors. Provisional patent protection has been filed for active loading methodologies for exosome-based psilocin delivery. The underlying BDNF/TrkB mechanism is supported by peer-reviewed publications in Nature Portfolio journals, including a 2026 Neuropsychopharmacology paper on psilocybin in a Fragile X Syndrome rat model and a 2025 npj Aging paper on psilocin's modulation of cellular lifespan and telomere integrity.

Xycota operates as a pre-revenue entity with no commercialized products. Its future revenue model is positioned around pharmaceutical licensing, co-development partnerships, or strategic acquisition by larger pharmaceutical companies following regulatory milestones. The company engages institutional strategic partners and investors exclusively through a private data room access model, with direct outreach via the President's office. Marketing and distribution channels are deliberately restricted to authorized partners; no public-facing campaigns, consumer channels, or direct product distribution exist at this preclinical stage.

Name

Xycota Biosciences

Legal name

Xycota Biosciences, LLC

Website

https://xycota.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2026

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Xycota Biosciences is a preclinical CNS biotechnology company developing engineered exosome-delivered psilocin therapeutics targeting the BDNF/TrkB pathway to restore synaptic connectivity in neurodegenerative diseases, with a lead program in Frontotemporal Dementia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

CNS Pharmaceuticals

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAAACAH

Neurology/CNS Gene Therapies

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Biotechnology & Biologics/Gene Therapy (AAV/lentiviral/other vectors)

Keywords

• Exosome drug delivery
• Neuroplasticity therapeutics
• CNS drug development
• Orphan drug designation
• Psilocin formulation

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical Licensing / Strategic Partnership: Pre-revenue preclinical company. Future revenue anticipated through licensing agreements, co-development partnerships, or strategic acquisition by larger pharmaceutical companies. The company's focus on Orphan Drug Designation for FTD suggests a pathway to commercialize XYCO-01 upon regulatory approval.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Xycota Biosciences is a preclinical biotechnology company developing engineered exosome-delivered therapeutics to physically restore synaptic connectivity in neurodegenerative diseases. The platform uses active moiety formulations (psilocin) carried by engineered exosomes to upregulate the BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway, bypassing the blood-brain barrier and 5-HT2A receptors to achieve structural neuroplasticity without hallucinogenic effects. Lead asset XYCO-01 targets Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) via the Orphan Drug Designation pathway.

Product overview

Xycota Biosciences is a preclinical precision CNS biotechnology platform developing engineered exosome-delivered neuroplasticity therapeutics. The company operates three pipeline programs: XYCO-01 (exosome-formulated psilocin for Frontotemporal Dementia), XYCO-02 (5-MeO-DMT in early evaluation), and XYCO-03 (future combined approach). The platform leverages engineered exosome delivery to achieve BDNF/TrkB pathway upregulation without the 5-HT2A psychedelic experience. All programs are in preclinical development stages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• XYCO-01 Exosome-formulated psilocin candidate targeting Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) via the BDNF-TrkB neuroplasticity pathway, currently in preclinical stage and being pursued for FDA Orphan Drug Designation. Designed for patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases characterized by synaptic decay and cognitive decline.
• XYCO-02 5-MeO-DMT candidate in early scientific evaluation as a distinct monotherapy within Xycota's preclinical pipeline.

Quantifiable outcome

• Peer-reviewed 2026 paper demonstrates psilocybin improves novel object recognition in Fragile X Syndrome rat model through BDNF/TrkB signaling modulation
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Denali Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for neurodegeneration with expertise in blood-brain barrier crossing delivery technologies. Comparable to Xycota's CNS neuroplasticity focus and engineered BBB-penetration approach, though Denali is further advanced clinically and broader in indication scope.
• Alector: Clinical-stage biotechnology company developing immuno-neurology treatments for neurodegenerative diseases including FTD and Alzheimer's. Direct comparator on the FTD indication, with deeper clinical pipeline and broader neurodegeneration portfolio.
• Biogen: Large biopharmaceutical company with active FTD programs (e.g., tofersen for SOD1) and broader neurodegenerative disease franchise. Represents the strategic-acquirer profile for a CNS biotech like Xycota and is the most likely large-cap partner or acquirer.

Emerging players

• Evox Therapeutics: Clinical-stage company engineering exosome-based therapeutics for rare diseases and CNS indications. Closest peer to Xycota on the proprietary exosome-delivery technology axis, though targeting different active payloads.
• Passage Bio: Clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on CNS disorders including FTD (with PBFT02 targeting frontotemporal dementia with GRN mutations). Comparable to Xycota on the CNS rare-disease focus and the use of novel delivery vectors to cross the blood-brain barrier.

Direct peers

• Atai Life Sciences: Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing psychedelic and non-psychedelic compounds for mental health indications including treatment-resistant depression. Operates a platform approach across multiple psychedelic moieties, directly comparable to Xycota's pipeline breadth strategy.
• Compass Pathways: Clinical-stage psychedelic medicine company developing psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression. Directly comparable to Xycota as a CNS-focused psychedelic therapeutics developer pursuing novel psychedelic-based mechanisms, though without Xycota's exosome-delivery angle.
• Cybin: Clinical-stage psychedelic therapeutics company developing deuterated psilocybin analogs (CYB003) for depression. Comparable to Xycota's psilocin-based approach (XYCO-01) with both pursuing novel psilocybin-class chemistry for CNS indications.
• GH Research: Clinical-stage company developing mebufotenin (5-MeO-DMT) for treatment-resistant depression. Directly comparable to Xycota given shared use of 5-MeO-DMT as a therapeutic moiety (Xycota's XYCO-02) and parallel CNS focus.
• MindMed: Clinical-stage psychedelic medicine company developing LSD and psilocybin-inspired candidates for CNS indications including anxiety and ADHD. Closest peer to Xycota in therapeutic class and indication breadth, both pursuing CNS neuroplasticity mechanisms.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/xycota-biosciences

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Xycota Biosciences