Translucent brain with glowing neural signaling pathways — Zermatt Biotech scientific focus on neuroinflammatory disease
Science · Pipeline

cGAS–STING and
Neuroinflammation

CNS-penetrant small-molecule STING inhibitors targeting chronic interferon-driven inflammation in rare and prevalent neurological disease.

Lead Program: AGS View Pipeline

The cGAS–STING pathway is a central regulator of innate immune activation and type I interferon signaling. In diseases marked by chronic pathway activation, STING signaling can contribute to sustained neuroinflammation and tissue injury.

Zermatt is developing CNS-penetrant small-molecule STING inhibitors designed to reduce pathological inflammatory signaling in rare interferonopathies and broader CNS disease settings.

Lead Program

Aicardi–Goutières Syndrome (AGS)

  • Neuroinflammatory rare disease

    Severe neurological symptoms emerging in infancy or early childhood.

  • Genetic dysregulation of innate immunity

    Loss-of-function mutations in nucleic-acid-handling enzymes trigger chronic type-I IFN signaling.

  • No disease-modifying therapies

    Current standard of care is supportive only.

Artistic visualization of neural signaling activity at the cellular level — AGS research focus
<1 in 100,000
Prevalence — among the rarest pediatric neuroinflammatory conditions
7+
Known causal genes — TREX1, RNASEH2A/B/C, SAMHD1, ADAR1, IFIH1
0
Approved disease-modifying therapies — a wide-open mechanism opportunity

Additional preclinical data are available upon request for qualified partners.

Hypothesis

"Dysregulated innate immune signaling drives chronic neuroinflammation in AGS."

Our Strategy

A three-step mechanism-first approach — from upstream drivers to therapeutic candidates.

1

Identify

Identify upstream pathway drivers using mechanistic AI on patient multi-omics data.

2

Validate

Validate mechanistic targets in disease-relevant biology — patient-derived cells and models.

3

Develop

Develop therapeutic candidates against validated targets — small molecule, biologic, or modality-agnostic.

Beyond AGS

Our mechanistic platform is designed to generalize across innate-immunity-driven disease.

Other neuroinflammatory diseases

Shared interferon signaling pathways

Autoimmune disorders

Type-I IFN-driven pathology

Rare genetic conditions

Monogenic immune dysregulation

Program Pipeline

Zermatt is advancing a CNS-focused STING inhibitor pipeline beginning with rare interferon-driven neuroinflammatory diseases and expanding toward broader CNS indications with shared innate immune biology.

Indication
Rationale
Exploring Planned Preclinical Active Preclinical
AGS Aicardi–Goutières Syndrome
Rare pediatric interferonopathy with strong type I IFN biology and no approved targeted therapy.
SAVI Rare interferonopathies
Genetically defined diseases linked to STING pathway activation.
NPSLE Neuropsychiatric Lupus
Adult CNS autoimmune disease with significant unmet need.
Alzheimer's / Parkinson's Neurodegeneration
Long-term opportunity in chronic neuroinflammation.

Additional preclinical data are available upon request for qualified partners.