About Us

Spalt Therapeutics was launched to develop innovative targeted therapies for the treatment of aggressive brain cancers. The company’s drug development program is based on years of research on the communication between brain tumors and neurons. Spalt initiated operations in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2021.

Our Focus

Spalt Therapeutics is a stealth biotech startup in the field of cancer neuroscience on a mission to develop novel targeted therapies for the treatment of brain cancer. The most common type of malignant primary brain cancer in adults is glioblastoma (GBM). Current standard treatment usually involves surgery followed by radiation therapy and cytotoxic chemotherapy. Unfortunately, median survival for patients is about 15 months and the five-year survival rate is less than 10%. Thus, GBM represents a major unmet medical need. Spalt is advancing novel small molecule therapeutics that act by disrupting the communication in synaptic connections formed between neurons and GBM cells. In the brain of patients with GBM, normal neurons can be hijacked by the tumor to support its survival and growth through the release of neurochemical signaling molecules. The company is targeting specific cell signaling mechanisms that mediate these neuron-cancer interactions.

Our Science

The growth of GBM is supported by biochemical communication between tumor cells and neurons. This interaction is mediated by synaptic transmission mechanisms involving cellular signaling triggered by neurotransmitter receptors. Spalt is currently identifying and validating neurotransmitter receptors located on the surface of GBM cells as therapeutic targets. Novel small-molecule compounds acting on these targets will be designed and developed by Spalt as novel drugs for the treatment of GBM. Adding these targeted agents to conventional therapy at the time of diagnosis would help to reduce resistance to treatment and eliminate tumor cells.