Organization Description
Endogena Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech company that discovers and develops first-in-class endogenous regenerative medicines to repair and regenerate tissues and organs that have deteriorated due to aging and genetic diseases. Their platform uses phenotypic screening to discover small molecules that activate, differentiate, or otherwise therapeutically modulate the activity of native adult stem and progenitor cells to effect controlled repair of tissues injured by disease, injury, or degenerative aging processes.
Endogena is owned by or in a similar relationship with Centenara Labs. As of August 2025, we judge it likely that both Endogena and Centenara have ceased operation.
EA-2353
Endogena’s most advanced program is EA-2353, a small molecule that targets progenitor cells in the ciliary body to promote retinal regeneration in retinitis pigmentosa — a constellation of genetic disorders that affect the cones of the eye, leading to impaired peripheral and night vision. FDA granted EA-2353 Orphan Drug Designation in May 2021, and in February 2023, it awarded Endogena Fast-Track designation for EA-2253.
In preclinical models, EA-2353 stimulates ciliary body progenitor cells to migrate to the retina and differentiate into photoreceptors. In a chemically-induced animal model of retinal degeneration, EA-2353 improves electroretinographic (ERG) scores, contrast sensitivity, and visual acuity, and some eyes treated with EA-2353 regained visual/retinal function that they had previously lost, while no control eyes did. In a genetic model, a structural analog of EA-2253 improved ERG scores.
Endogena launched a Phase I trial of EA-2353 in people with retinitis pigmentosa in June of 2022, and reported interim results at the Ninth Annual Retinal Cell & Gene Therapy Innovation Summit in September of 2024. The first three of an intended five treatment groups (with a total of 14 patients) appeared to exhibit slower decline in average best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) than controls through the end of the first year, and gains in low luminance visual acuity (LLVA) versus no change in controls; they also enjoyed more improving light sensitivity loci than declining loci at 9 months. There were no cases of ocular inflammation judged related to the EA-2353, and minimal problems with drug particles in the eye.
However, the ClinicalTrials.gov entry for this trial states that it was terminated once all patients had completed at least one year of safety followup instead of the intended two “due to a corporate decision, not any safety concerns of EA-2353.”
EA-2351
Similar to EA-2353, EA-2351 targeted progenitor cells in the eye, but in this case the target cell was retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. RPE are macrophage-like cells in the retina of the eye which engulf and remove damaged photoreceptors; their failure is a central cause of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in the developed world and the main cause of blindness in persons over the age of 65. While a small minority of ARMD patients with the “wet” form of ARMD can have their vision extended by therapies that target abnormal blood vessel growth, 80-90% of ARMD patients have the “dry” form, which is characterized by high levels of cell death in the central retina or macula. EA-2351 is intended to treat geographic atrophy (GA), an advanced form of dry ARMD.
In 2024, Endogena scientists reported that “EA-2351 promotes proliferation and maturation of human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, leading to wound repair” in an in vitro model of GA. In a rat model of GA induced by RPE atrophy resulting from sodium iodate injection, EA-2351 significantly improved electroretinogram readings relative to vehicle controls, although it was unclear how this related to intact animals or whether the c-wave (which is generated from the RPE and photoreceptors, but is not always included in the ERG) was affected. Visual acuity was also improved in eyes EA-2351-treated eyes compared to vehicle controls, and they exhibited a significantly reduced zone of RPE injury.
In October 2023, FDA granted Investigational New Drug (IND) clearance for EA 2351, setting the stage for a trial in ARMD patients, which they expected to begin in 2024.
IPF Candidate
Endogena’s pipeline section also lists a is a candidate that had completed lead optimization for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a terrible disease of aging characterized by lung scarring and a high burden of senescent cells. Their website emphasizes the short life expectancy of persons with IPF and the fact that “existing medications only slow down disease progression,” creating “an urgent need to develop new, more effective and well tolerated drugs for IPF patients,” but no details on the specific target or early data on the compound are given or seem to be available elsewhere.
Haematopoiesis Candidate
In 2021. Endogena listed a candidate for haematopoietic recovery on its pipeline chart. Hematopoietic recovery is when the body starts making blood cells again after destruction of the blood-cell-making cells in the body, such as chemotherapy or a bone marrow transplant. This includes making all types of blood cells – red blood cells (that carry oxygen), white blood cells (that fight infection), and platelets (that help with clotting). However, while this indication continued to appear tangentially in press releases through 2023, it disappeared from the pipeline diagram, and a search in August 2025 was unable to find any evidence on the testing of such a candidate.
However, the most recent item on the “news” page for Endogena is from May 3, 2024, and the latest from their parent company Centenara is from September 19 of the same year; their Twitter feeds were very minimal and ended even earlier. Combined with the early termination of the EA-2353 trial, we judge it likely that both companies have ceased operation.