An older couple laughing as they ride a bicycle together along a coastal path

Clinical-stage biotechnology, Copenhagen

Incretin medicines built to reach the brainIncretin medicines built for the brain

Kariya Pharmaceuticals develops dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists to slow the progression of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Our lead drug, KP405, has completed its Phase I trial.

How KP405 works

Phase I complete88 participants, including people with Parkinson's

No serious adverse eventsSafe and well tolerated across single and multiple doses

Advancing to Phase IIA placebo-controlled Phase IIa in people with Parkinson's is in preparation

An older man sitting in an armchair by a window overlooking the sea, both hands resting on a walking stick

Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's has no treatment
to slow disease progression

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 8.5 million people were living with Parkinson's in 2019. Today's medicines replace lost dopamine and ease symptoms for a time. None of them changes the course of the disease.

Two placebo-controlled trials, of exenatide in 2017 and lixisenatide in 2024, reported slower progression of motor symptoms in people with Parkinson's. Both drugs were developed for type 2 diabetes. Kariya's compounds start from the same biology and are designed for the brain.

Our approach

Two receptors

KP405 activates both the GLP-1 and GIP receptors. In the brain these receptors are linked to insulin signalling, inflammation and how neurons use energy.

Built to cross the barrier

Most GLP-1 drugs carry a fatty-acid chain that extends their half-life and, in independent studies, blocks their entry into the brain. KP405 has none. It carries a short cell-penetrating sequence instead.

Tested against marketed drugs

In published Parkinson's models, KP405 has been compared with exenatide, liraglutide, semaglutide and tirzepatide at equal or lower doses, and was the more protective compound each time.

Read about the science →