Custom Molecules, Fluorescent Probes: When Chemists Think Like Biologists with Dr. Maria Majellaro from Celtarys

A Partnership Rooted in Scientific Innovation

In this episode, Dr. Maria Majellaro, CSO of Celtarys Research, shares the story behind the company’s journey from academic curiosity to biotech force. But this conversation also marks something new: a strategic partnership between Dr. GPCR and Celtarys, built on a shared commitment to empowering the GPCR research community.

At Celtarys, the focus is on enabling fast, customizable development of fluorescent ligands and chemical probes for GPCR assays. What started as a PhD project has grown into a commercial technology that helps scientists interrogate receptor pharmacology with greater speed and flexibility.

“We started with GPCRs, but now we’re expanding to many new targets. Every time, it’s a new world—and we’re still learning.” — Maria Majellaro

Through this partnership, Celtarys becomes an integral part of the Dr. GPCR ecosystem, contributing both expertise and tools that align directly with the needs of scientists at the bench and in translational drug discovery.

Decision-Making: From Researcher to Scientific Leader

Maria’s story is one of trusting her instincts while embracing change. She began as a medicinal chemist in Italy, but a postdoc opportunity in Santiago de Compostela—and a mentor’s timely suggestion—changed her trajectory. When the time came to decide whether to leave the lab and lead Celtarys into biotech, she took the leap.

“It was my shift from the lab to leadership. I wasn’t sure at first, but I realized I could do this too.” — Maria Majellaro

Her decisions, often made intuitively rather than analytically, have led to key inflection points—including Celtarys’ formal launch in 2021, just as the world was emerging from the pandemic. Now, she leads a team of six scientists and continues to build momentum through collaborations like the one with Dr. GPCR.

Translating Science into Business

Like many scientists-turned-entrepreneurs, Maria faced the challenge of learning the business side of biotech on the fly. Celtarys had the technology—but not the roadmap for commercialization. That changed with support from Galicia’s robust biotech network, and the company quickly defined its value: building better tools for drug discovery assays.

“As scientists, we know how to make molecules. But we had to learn everything else—IP, market positioning, customer discovery.” — Maria Majellaro

This year, as part of its partnership with Dr. GPCR, Celtarys will bring those lessons to the broader community, providing insight into assay development, probe design, and the realities of scaling innovation from lab bench to product launch.

The Complexity Behind Every “Successful” Probe

Maria is candid about the technical challenges behind fluorescent ligand development. “It’s not just attaching a fluorophore,” she says. Each probe must retain activity, remain soluble, and be compatible with a given assay format. There were moments of doubt and repeated optimization. The payoff? Enabling companies and academic labs to avoid the costly dead ends often associated with probe development.

“You can have a great ligand—but if you can’t solubilize it, it’s useless.” — Maria Majellaro

Celtarys’ unique chemical platform shortens development timelines and allows tailored modifications—critical for labs starting new GPCR-related projects. Their work directly supports the tool-building mission that aligns with the Dr. GPCR ecosystem.

Pivoting: From Chemistry Company to Discovery Partner

Initially focused on tool production, Celtarys has evolved into something more: a scientific collaborator. Their approach is highly consultative—they don’t just sell ligands, they co-develop solutions. The company works with clients from pharma, CROs, and academia, including MD Anderson and several leading GPCR labs.

“We always start with the problem, then generate the right compound using our chemistry. It’s about enabling biology.” — Maria Majellaro

Through its partnership with Dr. GPCR, Celtarys will expand its visibility and impact—offering its expertise, tools, and real-world insight to researchers tackling today’s most pressing GPCR-related questions.

Summary made with AI

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Key Takeaway

This episode is more than a conversation—it’s the official kickoff of a one-year partnership between Dr. GPCR and Celtarys. Together, we’re combining chemistry, biology, and business insight to empower the GPCR research community like never before.

Whether you're designing assays, developing probes, or seeking better tools for GPCR drug discovery, Celtarys and Dr. GPCR are now working hand-in-hand to help you do it faster, better, and more reproducibly.

Keyword Cloud

GPCR research community, Dr. GPCR ecosystem, GPCR drug discovery, fluorescent ligands, GPCR scientist network, custom ligand development, GPCR assay development, G protein-coupled receptors, GPCR podcast, Celtarys partnership

Summary created by AI

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About Maria Majellaro

Dr. Maria Majellaro obtained her PhD with the distinction of Doctor Europeus from the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Bari (Italy) in 2018. During her doctoral studies, she spent one year as a predoctoral visiting student at the CIQUS Research Center—Campus of International Excellence—in Santiago de Compostela (Spain). In 2018, she returned to CIQUS to work as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the group of Prof. Eddy Sotelo, where together with Dr. Jhonny Azuaje they laid the groundwork for the future creation of Celtarys Research.

Since the founding of Celtarys in 2021, she has served as the company’s Chief Scientific Officer, leading all scientific activities—from the development of Celtarys’ proprietary products to the ideation and execution of custom research projects. She also oversees the company’s scientific collaborations across Europe and beyond, being responsible for securing and managing national and international research grants. To date, she has successfully led seven funded projects.

Her scientific expertise is rooted in organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry, with a particular focus on GPCR modulators. She has played a central role in the development and validation of Celtarys’ proprietary synthetic technology and is both a co-author of the related patent and a co-founder of the company.

Maria Majellaro on the web