Overcoming the limits of standard of care therapies

Starton is a clinical-stage biotechnology company transforming standard-of-care therapies with its proprietary continuous delivery technology platform, so people with cancer can receive continuous treatment to live better, longer. Starton’s technology enables lower but longer drug exposure which can improve tolerability, increase the efficacy of approved drugs, and expand their use into new indications so more people with cancer can benefit from the medicine while improving their quality of life.

“Cancer touches all of us, directly and indirectly. Today, life is often extended for a short period, and for most people with cancer, quality of life deteriorates significantly. At Starton, we are developing an approach to provide people with cancer longer, high quality lives. We are eliminating or minimizing the horrible side effects they experience every day by unlocking the full potential of approved drugs.”

Pedro Lichtinger, Co-Founder, Chairman, & CEO

Focused on continuous delivery

Starton’s proprietary continuous delivery technology platform can increase efficacy of approved drugs, make them more tolerable, and expand their potential use.

We are advancing the following candidates in our continuous delivery platform:

STAR-LLD

Transdermal and continuous subcutaneous formulations of lenalidomide for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), multiple myeloma (MM), and other cancers. STAR-LLD has the potential to become the first immunomodulatory drug (IMiD) in CLL, and a best-in-class IMiD in MM.

STAR-OLZ

Once-weekly transdermal olanzapine for chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting (CINV).

Read more about our initial development programs

Our platform technology reduces the area under the curve (AUC) and maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) of a drug to improve tolerability and avoid periods of subtherapeutic dosing due to a short elimination half-life (T1/2).

Our company is led by a world-class team comprised of experienced industry professionals and clinical opinion leaders. We strengthen our capabilities through collaborations with industry-leading firms. We are committed to developing bold solutions to address unmet medical needs, moving together with quality and speed to deliver on our commitment to patients.

Starting with hematologic cancers

CLL and MM are the most common blood cancers in the US with 20,700 and 35,780 new diagnoses expected in 2024, respectively. Both CLL and MM are rarely curable. Although current treatments extend survival for an average of three to 10 years, deteriorating quality of life remains a challenge due to drug-related side-effects

If dose-related side effects can be reduced and people can tolerate maintenance therapy for decades to help stay in remission, these cancers, that were previously a death sentence, would become more akin to a chronic disease with a long lifespan and healthy quality of life.