60 Degrees Pharma options FSU castanospermine IP for tick-borne diseases
60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals has entered an exclusive option agreement with the Florida State University Research Foundation (FSURF) covering intellectual property related to castanospermine, a naturally occurring iminosugar derived from the Australian Chestnut. The deal grants the Washington, DC-based company the right to negotiate an exclusive US licence for patented technology and associated know-how targeting four tick-borne indications: Powassan virus disease, tick-borne encephalitis, alpha-gal syndrome, and post-treatment Lyme disease.
The agreement also provides 60 Degrees with a formal evaluation period in which to build a commercialisation strategy and supporting development plan before committing to a full licence. The company did not disclose the financial terms of the option or the duration of the evaluation window.
The compound and its background
Castanospermine has attracted scientific interest for its broad antiviral and immunomodulatory activity, which has been documented in preclinical settings. The compound is not entirely untested in humans: celgosivir, a pro-drug that converts almost completely to castanospermine following oral administration, has been evaluated in clinical trials, providing a human safety dataset that 60 Degrees can draw on as it shapes its development strategy.
Chief executive Geoff Dow said the option agreement gives the company "the flexibility to advance a focused development strategy while leveraging our existing expertise in vector-borne infectious diseases," positioning castanospermine as the basis for novel prescription medicines rather than a consumer health product. That framing is deliberate. The company recently held discussions with the US Food and Drug Administration regarding a New Dietary Ingredient Notification for Australian Chestnut Extract as a dietary supplement, and has now stepped back from that pathway to concentrate on prescription drug development, where regulatory and commercial returns are typically more substantial.
Market context and competitive landscape
Tick-borne disease represents a significant and underserved therapeutic space. Lyme disease alone affects an estimated 476,000 people annually in the United States, according to Centres for Disease Control figures, and post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome remains without an approved therapy. Powassan virus, a rare but increasingly reported tick-borne encephalitic illness, similarly lacks any specific antiviral treatment, as does tick-borne encephalitis in the US market, where no domestic vaccine is licensed for routine adult use.
The competitive field for tick-borne disease therapeutics is sparse compared with other infectious disease categories, which is both an opportunity and a caution. A limited number of academic groups and small biotechs are exploring anti-infective and immunomodulatory approaches, but none has yet reached late-stage clinical development specifically in Powassan or alpha-gal syndrome, a condition characterised by delayed allergic reactions to mammalian-derived foods following lone star tick bites. That relative whitespace could favour 60 Degrees if castanospermine's preclinical profile translates, but the company faces the challenge of navigating several distinct regulatory pathways simultaneously.
60 Degrees already holds FDA approval for ARAKODA (tafenoquine) in malaria prevention and is separately advancing tafenoquine for babesiosis, another tick-borne parasitic disease. The castanospermine option adds a mechanistically distinct asset alongside the existing programme, broadening the pipeline without requiring a new therapeutic modality. Investors will be focused on when the company intends to convert the option to a full licence and what IND-enabling work it plans to initiate first.