Sushil K Mahata, Ph.D.

Dr. Sushil K. Mahata is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), a Research Physiologist at the VA San Diego Healthcare System, a Research Scientist at the Veterans Medical Research Foundation, and Founder and President of CgA Therapeuticals, Inc.

Dr. Mahata received his Ph.D. in Comparative Endocrinology from the University of Calcutta, India, in 1988. In 1990, he joined the laboratory of Hans Winkler at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, for postdoctoral training, where he began his studies of the chromogranin/secretogranin family of proteins. In 1993, he joined Daniel T. O'Connor's laboratory at UC San Diego, where his research expanded into the molecular and physiological functions of chromogranin A (CgA). His research has been continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Discovery and Development of Catestatin

Dr. Mahata is an internationally recognized investigator in chromogranin/secretogranin biology and the co-discoverer of catestatin (CST), a bioactive peptide derived from chromogranin A. He proposed the existence of a catecholamine-release inhibitory domain within CgA in 1995, experimentally identified the active domain in 1996, and coined the term catestatin in 1997.

His laboratory subsequently helped establish CST as a multifunctional endogenous peptide involved in cardiovascular, metabolic, inflammatory, gastrointestinal, and neurological physiology. Preclinical studies have demonstrated effects of CST on blood pressure regulation, cardioprotection, insulin sensitivity, inflammation, lipid metabolism, gastrointestinal function, and neurodegenerative disease. These discoveries have provided the scientific foundation for the development of CST-based therapeutics.

NIH-Funded Therapeutic Development

CgA Therapeuticals has received NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) support from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to advance CST-based therapeutic development.

Most recently, NIH/NIDDK awarded SBIR Phase I grant 1R43DK148298-01, “Peptide and Peptidomimetic Therapy for Gastroparesis,” to CgA Therapeuticals. The project is focused on developing catestatin and next-generation peptidomimetics as potential treatments for gastroparesis, a gastrointestinal motility disorder for which effective therapeutic options remain limited.

This program advances CgA Therapeuticals' broader strategy of translating endogenous CST biology into optimized peptide and peptidomimetic therapeutics with improved pharmacological properties.

Expanding Therapeutic Pipeline

Dr. Mahata and his collaborators are advancing a diverse portfolio of CST-based therapeutic candidates, including native CST (21-mer) and CST-R (22-mer); naturally occurring human CST variants, including G364S-CST and P370L-CST; retro-inverso CST (RI-CST); D-amino-acid CST (D-CST); and other next-generation peptide and peptidomimetic candidates designed to enhance stability, bioavailability, and therapeutic durability.

The therapeutic pipeline spans gastrointestinal, cardiometabolic, and neurodegenerative diseases, with ongoing programs evaluating CST-based approaches for gastroparesis, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular dysfunction, and Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies.

From Discovery to Translation

CgA Therapeuticals was founded to translate decades of fundamental research on chromogranin A and catestatin into innovative peptide-based therapeutics. The NIDDK SBIR program in gastroparesis represents an important step in advancing CST from biological discovery and mechanistic validation toward optimized therapeutic candidates and preclinical development.