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

Proteases are naturally occurring protein-degrading enzymes that regulate a wide variety of biological processes. Catalyst is harnessing the power of these enzymes as bio-pharmaceuticals by either redirecting  them to degrade specific proteins that promote disease or improving existing marketed proteases. Catalyst calls these engineered protease therapeutics "Alterases™".  Our technology consists of methods to identify proteases with tailor-made specificity or improved pharmacological properties. Catalyst’s proteases 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.