About
“
Autophagy represents a new frontier of drug development that utilizes the autophagosome to degrade disease driving targets. Casma’s internal and external team share the excitement of creating a new class of therapeutics with the potential to remove the causes of diseases and make a difference in the lives of patients.”
Keith Dionne, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
The Autophagy/lysosome pathway is an essential cellular mechanism for maintaining cellular homeostasis. Its roles include degrading and clearing disease causing targets such as aggregated proteins, dysfunctional cellular organelles, large signaling complexes and invading bacteria or viruses for the preservation of cellular integrity by enhancing membrane repair through lysosomal membrane patching. Our classic understanding of the autophagy pathway as a response to nutrient starvation has dramatically evolved in recent years, with an explosion of technology defining selectivity, membrane dynamics, and lysosomal signaling responses. A vibrant research community and our own research provides us with the understanding to develop novel therapeutics to specifically capture disease causing targets, enhance lysosomal degradation and improve membrane integrity. Through these means, we are developing therapeutics to treat both broad and rare genetic illnesses that currently have no adequate remedy.
