A New Path For Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Pathalys Pharma, Inc. (“Pathalys”) is a private, late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company committed to the development of multiple advanced therapeutics that address unmet needs in the management of end-stage kidney disease (“ESKD”). Pathalys’ initial asset is upacicalcet (Pathalys code: PLS240), a novel calcimimetic with the potential to improve the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (“SHPT”), approved in Japan under the brand name UPASITA®. Beyond PLS240, Pathalys continues to identify other high priority needs and potential solutions for patients with chronic kidney disease (“CKD”) and ESKD.
- DaVita Venture Group
- Abingworth
- Carlyle
- OrbiMed Advisors
- New Holland Capital
Three Questions Answered
With more than two million patients worldwide, SHPT is one of the complications that occurs with the progression of CKD. SHPT causes the parathyroid glands to become enlarged and hyperactive, overproducing parathyroid hormone (“PTH”). Upacicalcet is an intravenously administered novel calcimimetic that was shown through Phase III clinical trials in Japan to significantly reduce intact PTH levels in patients with SHPT receiving hemodialysis. Upacicalcet also demonstrated the potential for fewer adverse events, such as nausea and vomiting, than currently available therapies. We believe that PLS240 will contribute to addressing the unmet medical needs of patients in need of improved treatments for SHPT.
EA Pharma was seeking a partner to develop the asset outside of Japan and certain Asian countries, in particular in the US and Europe. We found significant value in partnering with Catalys Pacific along with DaVita to out-license upacicalcet to a newly formed company they created. Catalys Pacific pulled together a world-class team with extensive knowledge and expertise in the development and distribution of dialysis drugs. Moreover, Catalys Pacific’s partnership with DaVita, a top US renal services provider, will bring advantages in both the development and marketing stages to encourage rapid product adoption. We believe this collaboration will maximize the value of our asset.
We were delighted to witness the great value that a “Company Creation Model” can bring. The flexibility this business model has, to be able to design a specialized team around the technology and to effectively collect capital for its development, is extremely attractive. There are numerous pharmaceutical companies struggling to develop their assets outside of Japan. Companies like Pathalys enable these companies to advance development across the oceans. From our experience, we can say with confidence that Japan will most definitely benefit from companies that are backed by venture capital firms like Catalys Pacific. We hope for more Japanese companies to realize the great achievements that can be brought about through the collaboration between venture capital firms and pharmaceutical companies.