Therachon Expands Rare Disease Pipeline with Acquisition of GLyPharma

Rare Daily Staff

Rare disease drug developer Therachon said it would acquire GLyPharma Therapeutic for an undisclosed amount, expanding its pipeline with a drug candidate for short bowel syndrome (SBS) and other rare gastrointestinal diseases.

The acquisition follows a $60 million financing for Therachon.

Under the agreement, Therachon has acquired the exclusive development and commercialization rights to apraglutide, originally discovered by Ferring Pharmaceuticals and exclusively licensed to GLyPharma in 2012. Apraglutide is a next-generation, synthetic GLP-2 analog that is being investigated in two phase 2 studies in SBS.

SBS results from extensive intestinal resection due to chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), acute events, or congenital abnormalities. An estimated 20,000-40,000 patients are thought to suffer from SBS in the United States and Europe. Intestinal failure, a common and debilitating consequence of SBS, occurs when less than 200 cm of functional intestine remains following surgical resection. It is a life-threatening complication characterized by malabsorption and malnutrition, infections, blood clots and poor quality of life.

“Expanding our pipeline with this new asset supports our mission of harnessing internal and external scientific innovation to make a difference in the lives of people living with serious rare conditions,” said Luca Santarelli, CEO at Therachon. “Like achondroplasia, our other area of focus, people living with SBS have significant unmet medical needs. We believe apraglutide offers a potential best-in-class profile for efficacy, as well as a favorable dosing regimen and improved tolerability compared with other GLP-2 analogs.”

October 9, 2018
Photo: Luca Santarelli, CEO at Therachon