BASEL, Switzerland, June 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FloBiotech today announced an agreement with UCLA Health to advance a novel class of therapeutics targeting biologically validated protective pathways in neurodegeneration.
Highlights
- License secured for DDL-357, an advanced small-molecule therapeutic developed at UCLA Health
- Data demonstrates 40% reduction in phosphorylated tau and improved memory performance in disease models1, supporting disease-modifying potential
- Relationship strengthens FloBiotech's strategy of targeting early disease mechanisms across neurodegenerative indications
Neurodegenerative diseases represent one of the largest unmet needs in medicine and affect over 55 million people worldwide. Despite decades of investment, therapeutic success has remained limited, as most approaches focus on inhibiting pathological pathways after disease onset and show little effect on disease progression.
FloBiotech is advancing a differentiated approach, developing precision small-molecule therapies engineered to intervene earlier in disease biology, supporting the brain's natural ability to manage toxic protein stress. This strategy is grounded in human-relevant biology and focuses on enhancing endogenous protective pathways, including clusterin biology, with the potential to translate across multiple neurodegenerative diseases.
FloBiotech collaborates with leading academic innovators to advance high-quality therapeutic opportunities, including a collaboration with Prof. VargheseJohn and his team at UCLA Health, whose work led to DDL-357 and a broader portfolio of compounds targeting neurodegenerative mechanisms. Experimental data shows that DDL-357 increases brain clusterin levels, reduces phosphorylated tau by approximately 40%, and improves memory performance in disease models, supporting its potential as a disease-modifying therapeutic1. This collaboration also enables continued scientific exchange and the potential advancement of additional discovery programs, supporting both near-term clinical validation and long-term pipeline development.
FloBiotech is advancing a multi-indication strategy, including the exploration of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) to establish early clinical proof of mechanism, alongside its enduring focus on Alzheimer's disease.
"This agreement with UCLA Health reflects the type of relationship we seek to build-one that couples high-quality academic science with a clear path to clinical translation," said Loïc Galera, CEO of FloBiotech. "By securing a clinically advanced asset while establishing a strong scientific partnership, we are building a scalable pipeline designed to deliver both near-term validation and long-term impact across neurodegenerative disease."
"Our work has focused on understanding how protective biological pathways can be leveraged to address neurodegenerative disease at an earlier stage,"said Prof. Varghese John, UCLA Health. "Seeing this research advance is an important step toward translating these findings into potential therapeutic solutions and presents an exciting opportunity to further explore their clinical relevance."
Alan L. Rubino, Chairman of the Board of FloBiotech, added: "In my experience, the most successful biotech companies are those that combine high-quality science with disciplined execution. The combination of a clinically advanced asset and a strong scientific partnership positions FloBiotech to build a differentiated pipeline with clear potential for clinical and commercial impact."
About FloBiotech
FloBiotech is a neuroscience-focused biotechnology company developing precision small-molecule therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases. Headquartered in Switzerland with R&D operations in Paris-Saclay, the company is focused on building a differentiated pipeline grounded in human biology and clinical relevance.
For further information, contact:
Stephanie Lim
Chief of Staff
phone: +41 78 225 88 98
email: stephanie.lim@flo-biotech.com
Scientific Reference
Preclinical findings are based on peer-reviewed research conducted at UCLA Health and published in npj Drug Discovery (2025).
