San Francisco – September 08, 2026 -- Thryv Therapeutics Inc. has signed an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing license for a new SGK1 inhibitor chemical series, opening a path toward Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease treatments alongside its existing cardiac drug programs. The agreement with Spain's Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) and Fundación de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (FUAM) became effective July 1, 2026, granting Thryv rights across all fields of use and territories, with sublicensing rights included.
A second, independent chemical scaffold diversifies Thryv's drug pipeline
Thryv's current clinical candidates derive from a single in-licensed scaffold, backed by a library of more than 500 synthesized analogs and a granted selection patent estate. The newly licensed CSIC/UAM series originates from a separate discovery program, giving Thryv two distinct chemotypes it can tailor to different disease targets: cardiac and cardiometabolic conditions on one track, and central nervous system disorders on the other.
Research groups at CSIC and UAM developed the licensed technology
The invention combines work from medicinal chemistry researchers Dr. Ana Martínez and Dr. Carmen Gil and cardiovascular researcher Dr. Eduardo Oliver Pérez at CSIC's Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas, alongside neurobiology researcher Dr. Isabel Lastres-Becker and vascular pharmacology researcher Dr. Ana Briones Alonso at UAM. Published research links activated SGK1 to tau phosphorylation, misfolded protein handling, neuroinflammatory signaling, and FOXO- and NRF2-dependent stress responses -- mechanisms tied to Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies.
Executive says the license unlocks diseases the company's original chemistry could not reach
Debra Odink, President and Chief Development Officer of Thryv Therapeutics, said the license provides "a second, independent chemical foundation: new scaffolds, new molecules, and the ability to go after diseases our current chemistry was never designed to reach." She added that the company's cardiac programs continue to advance in parallel.
Lead cardiac candidate THRV-1268 remains in active clinical testing
Thryv's lead asset, THRV-1268, an orally available selective SGK1 inhibitor, is being evaluated in the WAVE II study for patients with Long QT Syndrome Type 2. A Phase 2a study in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, ASPIRE-HF, is planned to follow. Initial characterization of the newly licensed series is starting immediately, with Thryv targeting nomination of a first development candidate in 2027.