ACELYRIN, INC. announced the acquisition of ValenzaBio, a privately held company developing therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, in an all-stock transaction.
- Adds clinical- and pre-clinical immunology assets to pipeline including a potentially differentiated therapeutic for the treatment of Thyroid Eye Disease
- Led by the IL-17A inhibitor izokibep, ACELYRIN now features a robust portfolio of immunology programs including late-stage clinical trials in multiple indications
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ACELYRIN, INC., a late-stage clinical biopharma company focused on accelerating the development and delivery of transformative medicines in immunology, today announced the acquisition of ValenzaBio, a privately held company developing therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, in an all-stock transaction. The acquisition of ValenzaBio adds multiple clinical and pre-clinical development programs to ACELYRIN’s robust immunology pipeline, which is led by izokibep, a small therapeutic protein inhibitor of interleukin-17A (IL-17A) designed to overcome the limitations of monoclonal antibodies.
“ACELYRIN was founded a little over two years ago to identify, acquire, and accelerate the development and delivery of therapies with the potential to provide clinically meaningful, differentiated benefits to patients based on the science of the targets or characteristics of the molecules,” said Shao-Lee Lin, MD, PhD, founder and CEO of ACELYRIN. “The previously shared Phase 2 psoriatic arthritis data support our hypothesis that the characteristics of izokibep can lead to differentiated patient outcomes relative to current treatment options, and the results reported separately today for hidradenitis suppurativa now offer data in a second indication that further support that hypothesis. The acquisition of ValenzaBio adds additional programs to our portfolio, such as lonigutamab, which we believe similarly have the potential to offer clinically meaningful, differentiated benefits relative to current treatment options.”
The acquisition of ValenzaBio adds several additional assets to the ACELYRIN portfolio including:
- Lonigutamab (VB-421), a subcutaneously delivered anti-IGF-1R currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 study for Thyroid Eye Disease – a greater than $4 billion estimated market opportunity – with potential implications for efficacy, safety, and administration benefits for patients.
- VB-517, a pre-IND anti-c-KIT being studied as a treatment option in Chronic Urticaria, a potentially greater than $2.5 billion estimated market opportunity.
“Since ValenzaBio was founded in 2019, the team has collectively identified and developed treatment candidates for a variety of underserved indications in a capital efficient fashion,” said John Doux, MD, MBA, chairman of the ValenzaBio Board of Directors. “I have longstanding respect for Shao-Lee and her colleagues at ACELYRIN, and firmly believe that they are best suited to further advance these immunology assets and transform how these diseases are treated. I have confidence that this acquisition by ACELYRIN offers the greatest opportunity to drive value creation for the shareholders of ValenzaBio, and the patients we all strive to serve. “
In conjunction with the acquisition of ValenzaBio, Dr. Doux will join the ACELYRIN Board of Directors. Dr. Doux is an analyst at Palo Alto Investors as well as a board-certified dermatologist.
“We are pleased to execute this transformative acquisition as we continue building ACELYRIN into a leading immunology company, and we will continue to look for additional ‘diamond in the rough’ opportunities as we pursue the acquisition, development and delivery of transformative medicines for patients,” added Dr. Lin.
ACELYRIN, INC. is a Los Angeles area-based late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company – with additional operations in the San Francisco Bay area – focused on providing patients life-changing new treatment options by identifying, acquiring, and accelerating development and commercialization of promising drug candidates. For more information, please visit www.acelyrin.com
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the ability to offer treatments with clinically meaningful, differentiated benefits, the addressable market opportunity for the various product candidates in the pipeline, the ability to execute on the goal of acquiring and accelerating development of product candidates, and the ability to benefit from the acquisition of ValenzaBio. While ACELYRIN, INC. considers any projections to be based on reasonable assumptions, these forward-looking statements may be called into question by numerous hazards and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE ACELYRIN, INC.
