Chiesi snaps up Zymenex
pharmafile | August 29, 2013 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Chiesi, lamazym, rare diseases, zymenex
Chiesi Group is to acquire biopharma company Zymenex Holdings, allowing the Italian firm to enter the rare disease arena for the first time and open a potential new revenue stream.
Genetic condition specialist Zymenex has its HQ in Hilleroed, to the north of Copenhagen, Denmark, and has research laboratories in Stockholm, Sweden.
The deal has been done through UK affiliate Chiesi Ltd and venture capital provider Sunstone Capital – Zymenex’s largest shareholder – but all parties are tight-lipped about the financial details of the transaction.
The Zymenex brand is expected to be retained, with Chiesi insisting it will ‘gradually integrate’ the company’s activities into its R&D structure.
The jewel in the crown is the access this deal gives Chiesi to Zymenex’s late-stage drug Lamazym, which has received orphan drug designation in Europe and the US.
The Phase III recombinant enzyme is indicated for use to treat patients suffering from alpha-Mannosidosis, an inherited disease which can be fatal, particularly in children.
Symptoms of the condition include hearing loss, seizures and muscle pain and it can lead to immobilisation, leaving sufferers wheelchair-bound. There is no cure.
Chiesi chief executive Ugo Di Francesco, said: “Given the rarity of the condition and the importance of being close to the patients, we will consider setting up a standalone rare disease unit that would cover all major geographies, including the US.”
Zymenex chairman Sten Verland added: “We believe that Chiesi through its regulatory expertise and worldwide commercial footprint has the resources needed to fully exploit the potential of Zymenex’ R&D for the benefit of patients with rare, serious, genetic diseases, for which there is no treatment available today.
“Zymenex has from the very beginning focussed on orphan drugs in the field of Lysosomal Storage Diseases.” He concluded: “Patient focus and high quality research in all aspects of the development process are the basis for the company’s success.”
Trials of Lamazym are partly sponsored by an EU Framework 7 grant.
Adam Hill
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