Download Accelerating Rare Genetic Disease Therapies

Cydan Development, Inc.
700 Technology Square, 3rd Floor
Cambridge MA 02139 USA
+1 617 231-6020
[email protected]
www.cydanco.com
Fact Sheet
Accelerating Rare Genetic Disease Therapies
About Cydan
The Cydan Team
Cydan Development is the first orphan drug accelerator dedicated
to advancing therapies that improve the lives of people living with
rare genetic diseases. Cydan starts with a compelling scientific
idea or promising drug candidate from collaborators in academia
CHRIS ADAMS, PhD, MBA
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
and industry, and then efficiently advances therapies through
pre-clinical R&D to enable the establishment of an independent
company to accelerate the therapy through clinical development
and ultimately to the people who need them.
JAMES McARTHUR, PhD
The accelerator was launched in 2013 with a collaborative team of
Founder and Chief Scientific Officer
scientists and entrepreneurs with comprehensive experience and
expertise in drug discovery, clinical development and business
development. In early 2015, we launched our first new company –
Vtesse – which is developing drugs for Niemann-Pick Disease Type
C (NPC) and other rare, severe diseases with great unmet need.
VERED BISKER-LEIB, PhD, MBA
Chief Business Officer
Access to Capital
Cydan works with leading investors in the life sciences space. The
accelerator was funded with $26 million in a financing led by
New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Pfizer Venture Investments,
AILEEN HEALY, PhD
Vice President, Preclinical Development
Lundbeckfond Ventures, Bay City Capital, and Alexandria Real
Estate Equities, Inc./Alexandria Venture Investments. Additional
capital is available from the investor syndicate to launch the NewCos.
Cydan Newcos
Vtesse, which Cydan launched in January 2015, is developing
DIONE KOBAYASHI, PhD
Vice President, Preclinical Translation
VTS-270, a drug for patients with Niemann-Pick Disease Type
C (NPC) and other rare, severe diseases with great unmet need.
Vtesse was started with an initial Series A round of funding, an
experienced management team, a compelling corporate story
and as well as a path to human clinical proof of concept. For
LAURA ALESSIO
more information, visit www.vtessepharma.com.
Office Manager
Cydan Fact Sheet
Opportunities
Opportunities
Launch
New Companies
THE
CYDAN
MODEL
Screen/Diligence
Our Rare Disease Drug
Development Model
We scour scientific literature, visit universities and
attend medical conferences to identify potential
compelling therapies.
Our well-financed, transparent, four-part model is unique and truly
Screen/Diligence
Our rapid
assessment
internal scenarios.
and external We build the development plan
adaptable
towith
multiple
resources determines the path forward for this
collaboratively,
new clinical
candidate. share all the data
from our studies and accelerate
decision-making.
De-risking
An IND-ready asset is ready for Series A funding
with a NewCo to bring this orphan drug candidate
Our goal is the same as yours: to rapidly
to patients.
advance development
of therapies that will impact the lives of people with living with
Launch New Companies
rare genetic diseases.
Cydan NewCos have an investible corporate story,
access to capital, experienced management and a
clear path forward.
De-risking
Opportunities
The Cydan team researches the scientific literature, visits universities, and attends medical conferences to identify compelling
therapies that have the potential to significantly impact monogenic
rare diseases and change lives. Cydan opportunities have arisen
from collaborations with:
• Academic laboratories
• Government-funded labs
• Small biotech/biopharma companies
• Large pharma R&D
Diligence and Screening
Cydan conducts a rapid assessment to determine a path forward.
Our screening process seeks answers to these questions:
• Is there an asset or a path to this asset?
• Is the therapy targeting the disease pathway or a significant symptomatology?
• Is this a disease with significant unmet need?
• Is the potential patient population sufficient for clinical development and commercialization?
• Is there intellectual property (IP) or a path to IP protection
for the asset?
During diligence, Cydan identifies and develops a path forward
with extensive internal and external resources, including experts in: • Disease Pathology and Epidemiology
• Manufacturing
• Toxicology
• Clinical Development and Regulatory
• Chemistry
• Intellectual property
During diligence, we seek to gain a full appreciation of the mechanism of action behind potential therapies and determine if this
mechanism of action will fundamentally change the pathophysiology of the underlying disease. At this stage we may decide the scientific idea is compelling but we must create a new clinical candidate.
De-Risking
De-risking yields an IND-ready asset considered ready for company
launch to bring this orphan drug candidate to people living with a
rare genetic disease. We conduct a thorough analysis to:
• Expand pharmacology with in vitro and in vivo studies
• Determine a viable manufacturing strategy
• Address any toxicology risks
• Develop the IP strategy
• Establish the disease epidemiology, commercial market opportunity and the competitive landscape
• Construct a clinical and regulatory development pathway
NewCo Launch
Cydan brings more to company creation than access to our
VC network. We bring an experienced team to lead successful
company formation including:
• Creation of a compelling corporate story
• Manage the investor diligence and Series A raise
• Identify the management team
• Ongoing NewCo guidance and support
Cydan Development, Inc.
700 Technology Square, 3rd Floor
Cambridge MA 02139 USA
+1 617 231-6020
[email protected]
www.cydanco.com