Catalyst Biosciences is developing a new generation of biopharmaceuticals that harness the catalytic power of engineered proteases.

Proteases are naturally occurring protein-cleaving enzymes that regulate a wide variety of biological processes. Catalyst Biosciences is harnessing the power of these enzymes as bio-pharmaceuticals by either redirecting them to cleave specific proteins that promote disease or improving existing marketed protease-based drugs.  Catalyst calls these engineered proteases "Alterase™ Therapeutics."  Our technology consists of methods to identify proteases with tailor-made specificity or improved pharmacological properties.  Catalyst’s Alterases represent an exciting new modality in protein therapeutics.  Alterases have the potential to be very powerful therapeutics due to their catalytic nature.  Unlike standard small molecule or antibody drugs, a single protease molecule can inactivate hundreds to thousands of target molecules, resulting in higher efficacy and lowered dosing.