Cajal: integrating anatomy and genetics to discover CNS targets

Like its namesake, Cajal Neuroscience is bringing state-of-the-art anatomical techniques to brain mapping. But unlike early neuroscience pioneer Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the company is integrating neuroanatomy with genetic methods not even dreamed of in the late 1800s, to discover new targets key to progression of neurodegeneration.

“The dominant hypothesis in neurodegeneration has been amyloid beta. Its value has turned out to be marginal, but clearly it’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Executive Chairman Rob Hershberg told BioCentury. “We wanted to start a company rooted fundamentally in genetics and equipped with the tools to discover and interrogate new targets.”...