New biopharma company formed
Graffinity Pharmaceuticals, of Heidelberg in Germany, and Swiss-based MyoContract have merged to form Santhera Pharmaceuticals.
Graffinity Pharmaceuticals, of Heidelberg in Germany, and Swiss-based MyoContract have merged to form Santhera Pharmaceuticals.
The new biopharma company will focus on the discovery, development and commercialisation of small molecule drugs in the areas of neuromuscular and metabolic diseases. Financial details of the all-share transaction were not disclosed.
Santhera will be headquartered in Liestal, near Basel in Switzerland, with r&d operations in both Liestal and Heidelberg. Dr Klaus Schollmeier, ceo of Graffinity, will be ceo of Santhera Pharmaceuticals and Dr Thomas Meier, founder and ceo of MyoContract, will serve as the new company's chief scientific officer.
Santhera's drug pipeline consists of an advanced clinical programme in a neuromuscular disease, which will enter pivotal trials by early 2005, and three advanced preclinical programmes in diabetes, cachexia/anorexia, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The company's proprietary drug discovery technology and process, which was developed in-house, has the capability to expedite drug discovery programmes.
'The formation of this exciting new company, which - with one product about to enter phase III clinical trials and an advanced preclinical pipeline - is clearly focused on commercialising the scientific assets that each of the two predecessor companies has developed,' said Dr Schollmeier. 'The combination of Graffinity's and MyoContract's expertise in the discovery and development of innovative therapies creates a formidable pharmaceutical company in the highly attractive niche market of innovative drugs for neuromuscular diseases with further growth opportunities in major metabolic disease markets.' As part of its growth strategy, Santhera will seek to partner some of its more advanced, preclinical stage programmes, he added.