SAN MATEO – October 29, 2026 -- Astrosalva Therapeutics, a privately held preclinical biotech, has launched with Unravel Biosciences as its founding development partner to pursue treatments for Alexander disease and the cerebral form of adrenoleukodystrophy (cALD). Unravel co-founder and CEO Richard Novak, PhD, has joined Astrosalva's board of directors.
Astrosalva widens its focus from Alexander disease to cALD
Both conditions are rare genetic diseases affecting the brain's white matter. In children, cALD can progress rapidly and often leads to total disability within a few years. MedlinePlus puts the prevalence of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, the genetic condition behind cALD, at 1 in 15,000 people worldwide. Ionis Pharmaceuticals estimates that Alexander disease affects about 1 in 1 to 3 million people worldwide.
Astrosalva added cALD to its scope after learning about the shared challenges of families affected by rare neurodegenerative diseases.
Founders pair a parent-led research effort with 10 years of rare-disease experience
Thomas Wagner co-founded the company after his son Max was diagnosed with Alexander disease at seven months old. Wagner said he read hundreds of research papers and contacted their authors. Co-founder and CEO Paul Schmidt has nearly 15 years in biopharma, more than 10 of them in rare disease. Schmidt said he repeatedly sees "promising research that never gets a company built around it." He added that approved treatments now exist for both diseases but that families still need more options, including medicines that are easier to take.
Unravel brings AI-driven platform to the partnership
Unravel is a clinical-stage therapeutics company. Its Predictable Medicine platform uses primary transcriptomics data to create Living Molecular Twins of real patients, which can be used to predict therapeutic response. Its pipeline spans neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental and metabolic disorders. Novak said Unravel will contribute its experience in rare and complex disease drug development to Astrosalva's programs.
Astrosalva's programs are preclinical, so no clinical trial or expanded-access program is currently open to patients.