The mezzanine financing round was led by Novo Holdings and joined by new investors Cowen Healthcare Investments and Pfizer Ventures. It was followed shortly by the announcement that Theracon has acquired Montreal-based GLyPharma Therapeutic.
Therachon describes the acquisition as a “transformational”, marking the Basel-based company’s evolution to a multi-asset rare disease company by adding GLyPharm’s apraglutide to its product pipeline. The drug, which targets short bowel syndrome (SBS), is currently in Phase 2 studies.
“Like achondroplasia, our other area of focus, people living with SBS have significant unmet medical needs,” said Therachon CEO Luca Santarelli. “We believe apraglutide offers a potential best-in-class profile for efficacy, as well as a favourable dosing regimen and improved tolerability compared with other GLP-2 analogues.”
In the US and Europe, an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 patients are thought to suffer from short bowel syndrome, which can have life-threatening complications. Apraglutide was originally discovered by Ferring Pharmaceuticals and exclusively licensed to GLyPharma. Under the terms of the agreement, Therachon has acquired the exclusive development and commercialization rights to apraglutide.
