2023-12-012 - NeuroSwitch - Light-Modulated Drugs to Restore Neuronal Activity in Neurological Disorders

NeuroSwitch

2023-12-012

Series of compounds based on photopharmacology principles, with the unique advantage of controlling the neuronal signalling using light

The institution has a clear commitment towards the inclusion and diversity,employee engagement, human rights and wellbeing. Furthermore, the project has a commitment towards reducing environmental impact, engaging citizenship, and overseed ethical aspects and gender equality, regarding the widespreading of the technology.

Our technology, offers the effectiveness and precision of drugs without the severe side effects, given the spatiotemporal control of the activity. This would avoid more than 185.000 surgical interventions for electrode implantation annually, reduce the time spend at hospitals and increase the autonomy of the patients. Ideally, our technology will allow patients to treat themselves, upon demand, which is very interesting for specific disorders like AD or PD. The global market on neuromodulation is experimenting a rapid growth, expected to reach 8.8 B$ by 2025 and a CAGR of 8.6%.

Current treatments for neurological disorders like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, Schizophrenia, Traumatic brain injury or stroke, are highly invasive, come with severe side effects or very costly for the patents and health systems. Our laboratory have designed a series of neurological drugs that are active only upon illumination. By these means, we are able to activate the drugs specifically in the area of the brain that requies the therapeutic action and greatly minimize the toxicity and side-effect.

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Acquire an attractive preclinical set of data and license the technology to a pharmaceutical company

Treatments for neurological disorders like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, Schizophrenia, Traumatic brain injury or stroke, are highly invasive, come with severe side effects or very costly for the patents and health systems.

Neuromodulation market

150000

We need this initial amount to advance with in-vivo and pre-clinical studies

PoC in animals, preclinical validation of the technology and out-licensing of the technology

Our technology will allow for the first time the therapeutic neuromodulation using drugs, locally activated by light.

Financial barrier

We will continue with the therapeutic PoC assays and with preclinical assays, studying the administration routes, doses.

Patent filed Q4 2024 and positive EESR recived on May 2025

IP available for licensing

Talented team, a Severo Ochoa acredited institution with 23 research teams , that count on the support of management and research facilities. The institution offers mentoring programs and trainings on innovation, open science, research management, etc. A skilled research team with know-how regarding the technology, and expertise in molecular biology and biosintetic approaches for drug synthesis and targeted therapies to specific organs.

A quality management system is used for management of innovation, and will be implemented in all the steps of the product life. The quality system is based on leadership, enganement of team members and stakeholders, in improvement, evidence-based decision making, excellence, transparency and talent retention.

Our strategy would allow for a safe use of potent neurological drugs, non-invasively, with a high spatiotemporal resolution of activation. This is translated into minimized toxicity and side-effect, which are the major problems of drugs targeted to CNS. Our strategy could potentially help patients to have non-invasive treatments, cost-effective and that increase the autonomy of the patients limiting the visits to medical centers