Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the pharma industry. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked startups working on dermatological drugs.
Global Startup Heat Map: 5 Top Startups Developing Dermatological Drugs
The 5 pharma startups you will explore below are chosen based on our data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and relevance of technology, among others. This analysis is based on the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering over 1.3 million startups & scaleups globally.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the 5 startups our Innovation Researchers curated for this report. Moreover, you get insights into regions that observe a high startup activity and the global geographic distribution of the 196 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
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Escalier Biosciences focuses on Inverse Agonists
Many skin disorders, particularly autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, lack effective topical treatments. This represents a challenge for millions of patients with skin disorders that later develop into other conditions such as psoriatic arthritis. Inverse agonists represent an emerging class of drugs for dermatology. These drugs bind to the same sites as an agonist but display antagonistic properties.
US-based startup Escalier Biosciences develops treatments for autoimmune diseases. The startup’s pipeline includes both topical and oral inverse agonists for broad-spectrum psoriasis treatment. The drugs act against RORγt, a nuclear hormone receptor implicated in the pathophysiology of psoriasis. The startup’s topical drug candidate uses a proprietary technology to increase penetration into dermal tissues.
Crescita Therapeutics develops a Topical Analgesic
Topical analgesics are painkillers that are applied directly onto the skin. The ease of application makes them attractive candidates for patients who have trouble swallowing pills or intake other forms of medication. Moreover, topical analgesics provide a reliable and long-lasting anesthetic effect. For this reason, they find applications in both clinical and cosmetic dermatological procedures.
Crescita Therapeutics is a Canadian startup developing prescription and non-prescription products for the treatment of skin conditions. Pliaglis, the startup’s lead product, is a topical analgesic for use in superficial dermatological and cosmetic procedures. The FDA-approved product uses a patented phase-changing, topical cream technology. The startup’s pipeline also includes drugs for psoriasis and dermatological skin treatment.
Carocell Bio creates Therapeutic Peptides
Therapeutic peptides fight disease by either replacing a missing protein or inhibiting another. Because of the advances in peptide screening and artificial intelligence-based drug discovery, startups are now developing therapeutic peptides with a wide variety of mechanisms. For example, startups create therapeutic peptides that target signaling cascades involved in dermatological conditions such as dermatitis.
British startup Carocell Bio develops novel therapeutics for the treatment of inflammatory conditions in dermatology and gastroenterology. The startup’s portfolio includes highly potent therapeutic peptides that selectively inhibit intracellular mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases. Among dermatological conditions, the startup’s pipeline includes drugs for atopic dermatitis, burns, and epidermolysis bullosa.
DermBiont works on Skin Microbiome Therapeutics
Recent advances establishing the physiological importance of the microbiome have led to a rise in microbiome-based therapeutics. The skin’s microbiome, for instance, presents novel opportunities for the development of diagnostic and therapeutics for dermatological diseases. That is why pharma startups are exploring the mechanism of skin microbes to develop therapeutics for a range of skin conditions.
DermBiont is a US-based startup offering targeted therapeutics for dermatology. The startup’s skin microbiome therapeutics platform leverages DNA sequencing data from human skin samples of healthy individuals and dermatological patients. The startup’s lead drug candidate, DBI-001, is under investigation for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, tinea pedis, and onychomycosis. DermBiont’s pipeline also includes drugs for seborrheic dermatitis and seborrheic keratosis.
Ractigen Therapeutics activates RNA
Ribonucleic acid activation is a direct approach to increase the expression of a target gene. Since it can be applied to nearly any gene, RNA activation allows the targeting of sites previously considered undruggable by other approaches. This makes it an alternative to gene therapy and provides a persistent expression of the target genes.
Chinese startup Ractigen Therapeutics develops first-in-class therapies based on RNA activation. The startup uses a high-throughput discovery engine to identify multiple activating oligonucleotides for a target gene. The short, non-coding oligonucleotides target and upregulate therapeutic genes. The startup is working on an anti-aging therapeutic, as well as drugs for oncology, liver diseases, and rare diseases.
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