Astero Erado Inc.

Astero Erado Inc., a for-profit corporate entity based in College Station, Texas, is a biotech grant recipient focused on engineered antibody therapeutics for severe autoimmune disease, receiving 100% of its federal funding as prime recipient awards from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

The company's federal footprint consists entirely of NIAID SBIR grants totaling $11.9 million across eight awards issued between 2021 and 2026. Astero Erado's technology platform, called SELDEG (Selective Degradation), deploys engineered antibody-based therapeutics to selectively target and deplete pathogenic autoantibodies implicated in specific autoimmune disorders while preserving protective immunity. The portfolio addresses three distinct disease targets. A $306,449 Phase I SBIR award issued in August 2026 funds development of an engineered antibody therapeutic for bullous pemphigoid, an autoimmune blistering disease, running through July 2028 with work performed in Houston, Texas. The company also holds active NIAID grants targeting pemphigus (a severe autoimmune blistering disorder), immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITTP), and primary membranous nephropathy (MN), each using disease-specific SELDEG molecules. A pair of MN-focused grants awarded in March 2022 carry completion dates spanning through February 2027; a second ITTP grant runs through April 2028, representing the deepest investment in a single indication. One earlier ITTP Phase I award completed in December 2024.

Activity is sparse but sustained: two awards in 2021 and 2022 respectively, three in 2023, and one in 2026. Three awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating recompete opportunity. The company operates exclusively as a prime recipient with no sub-award activity; all work is performed in-house. NIAID is the sole customer agency represented across the portfolio, reflecting the narrow, mission-driven focus of biotech SBIR funding for rare and severe autoimmune disease.