Cellestial Health announces investment from Zinc VC

Cellestial Health, a University of Cambridge spinout working on novel therapeutics for Parkinson’s Disease and other disorders of the brain, has announced pre-seed investment via Zinc VC. Cellestial’s approach aligns with Zinc’s investment mission to tackle the most complex problems facing people’s health. 

Leveraging Cambridge expertise

Cellestial was founded by Dr Nataly Hastings following her postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge. Dr Hastings is also an alumna of Cambridge Judge Entrepreneurship Centre’s Ignite programme (2024) which aims to enable early-stage tech and health entrepreneurs to trial and prepare research innovations and ideas for the commercial environment. 

As an emerging pharmaceutical startup, Cellestial is approaching brain function from a novel angle by protecting often overlooked networks of astrocytes – star-shaped brain cells, a partner network of more well-researched neurons that form about half of the brain’s cellular make-up. Astrocytes are pivotal to controlling multiple brain functions and are impacted by conditions such as Parkinson’s. The funding award will enable Cellestial to expedite their drug development process by advancing from target pathway validation and studies in various models as well as human tissue towards a full drug discovery pipeline for best-in-class astrocyte-modulating small molecules. 

During academic research at Cambridge, in collaboration with the departments of Clinical Neurosciences, Engineering, Pharmacology and Chemistry (and with advice of Alborada DDI), Dr Hastings and colleagues, including Dr Saifur Rahman, a fellow Ignite alumnus and a Head of Pharmacology at Cellestial, identified that astrocytic networks become dysregulated in human Parkinson’s Disease and disease models. This can lead to impaired calcium signalling and inflammatory changes in cells which contribute to alpha-synuclein aggregation and cell damage. Cellestial Health aims to restore the healthy cellular environment of the brain by protecting and stabilising astrocytic networks, thus reducing toxic inflammation and preventing the accumulation of harmful proteins associated with Parkinson’s.

Transforming the treatment of Parkinson’s disease

Cellestial Health created a platform that identified and validated a strong target, leading to a pipeline of assets in development that can be taken through preclinical work and towards clinical trials. This platform offers a significant opportunity to transform the understanding and treatment of Parkinson’s Disease, leading to reduced symptoms, slower disease progression and ultimately to vastly improved patient quality of life. The team are focusing on a single asset and molecular pathway at the early stages to maximise the impact towards clinical translation. Given that many brain conditions share common causes, such as inflammation and cell stress, there is scope for expansion to help even more people living with multiple sclerosis, stroke, depression and even ageing. 

Dr Hastings is determined to translate her 10 years of clinical research experience into a commercial venture which has global impact. She commented on her experience at our summer Ignite programme: 

The week-long course is packed full of valuable connections across the range of specialities from Intellectual Property (IP) protection to exit strategies which I found valuable as a founder and entrepreneur. The coaching by Dr Sarah Mardle and Massimo Gaetani, as well as pharma partnering advice with an international perspective from Michael Garrison, vastly broadened my perspective.

Dr Nataly Hastings

Dr Hastings has assembled a formidable team of experts to support the startup’s overall goals including Steve Grant, Chairperson; Martyn Postle and Geoff Race as business advisors; and Professor Malu Tansey, Professor Maria Spillantini and Dr Jon Brotchie as Parkinson’s advisors.