cortisol
(3)
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing clofutriben, an oral, once-daily HSD-1 inhibitor that lowers active cortisol inside specific tissues rather than shutting down the body's steroid system entirely. Founded in 2013 by scientist David Katz, the company has raised roughly $145 million across Series A and Series B rounds and is running the Phase 2b CAPTAIN-T2D trial in patients with type 2 diabetes and elevated cortisol, alongside programs in Cushing's syndrome and autonomous cortisol secretion.
Robert Jacks
Robert Jacks is President & CEO of Sparrow Pharmaceuticals, a Boston-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted therapies for disorders driven by intracellular cortisol excess. In September 2025 he closed a $95 million Series B co-led by RA Capital and Forbion to advance clofutriben, an HSD-1 inhibitor, through a Phase 2b trial in type 2 diabetes patients with elevated cortisol. A civil engineer turned biotech operator, Jacks has spent 25 years in the industry, co-founded Symbiomix Therapeutics (sold after Solosec NDA approval), previously led Indalo Therapeutics, and has raised more than $300 million across his companies.
Rarebird, Inc.
Rarebird is a New York and San Leandro-based specialty coffee company that replaces caffeine with paraxanthine (Px), the natural metabolite your body turns caffeine into. Founded by bioengineer Dr. Jeffrey Dietrich, Rarebird uses a patented reverse-infusion process to load 60mg of Px into single-origin Colombian decaf beans, promising alertness and focus without the jitters, anxiety, cortisol spikes, or wrecked sleep. Backed by Y Combinator, AgFunder, First Round Capital and the National Science Foundation, Rarebird is trying to make Px 'the third coffee' - a category alongside regular and decaf.