A new company, Alizé Pharma III SAS, has been set up to develop this project

Dr. David Clemmons, co-inventor of the technology and a highly reputable key opinion leader in endocrinology and metabolism, will collaborate on the drug optimization and development programs

Alizé Pharma III SAS, an Alizé Pharma group company specialized in the development of biopharmaceuticals to treat metabolic disorders and rare diseases, today announces that it has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize a new family of peptides with bone anabolic properties.

The peptides are derived from a fragment of a physiological protein, called IGFBP-2 (Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein-2). In vitro and in vivo studies showed the peptides’ ability to induce bone formation by stimulating osteoblast differentiation and inhibiting osteoclast differentiation.

This new and unique mechanism of action supports the development of a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of osteoporosis and several rare diseases that are associated with impaired bone metabolism.

Alizé Pharma III SAS is a new company, created for this project. It was set up to select a drug candidate based on a lead optimization program and advance it to the clinical stage

The inventors of the IGFBP-2- based technology are Dr. David Clemmons, chief of the division of endocrinology and metabolism, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Dr. Clifford Rosen, the director of clinical and translational research, and a senior staff scientist at Maine Medical Center’s Research Institute, Portland, Maine.

The University of North Carolina and the University of Maine own the patent on the IGFBP-2 peptides. The patent was originally licensed to New Paradigm Therapeutics Inc. (NPT Inc.), a University of North Carolina spin-off company founded by Dr. Clemmons.

NPT Inc. has granted an exclusive sublicense to Alizé Pharma III SAS. Both companies will now collaborate on the development of a new therapy targeting bone diseases. According to the terms of the agreement, Alizé Pharma III SAS will pay NPT Inc. an agreed percentage of its licensing or divestment revenues.

Dr. David Clemmons, CEO of NPT Inc. and a key opinion leader in endocrinology and metabolism, said: “I am very pleased to enter this collaboration with Alizé Pharma, a logical partner for us, based on its know-how and track record in the development of therapeutic peptides for metabolic disorders. I look forward to moving our studies into the drug optimization and development phases in order to provide patients with a much needed anabolic bone therapy in the near future.”

“We are delighted to cement a partnership with Dr Clemmons and NPT on this program targeting important unmet medical needs. According to our business model, Alizé Pharma III SAS will develop a product up to the clinical stage and then license or divest the program to a pharma partner,” said Thierry Abribat, manager of TAB Consulting, founder of Alizé Pharma III SAS. “I am pleased to announce that the first financing round is currently in progress. We are also open to any further enquiries.”

About bone loss

Bone loss is associated with a number of diseases, including osteoporosis and several rare genetic diseases. Most of the available drugs to treat these diseases are anti-resorptive therapies. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, over 200 million people around the world live with osteoporosis, of whom more than one third are based in the United States, Europe and Japan. Worldwide, osteoporosis causes more than 8.9 million fractures annually; 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men over age fifty will experience osteoporotic fractures. The global osteoporosis drugs market is estimated at over $8.3 billion in 2014 with strong growth of revenues in coming years. Yet there is still an unmet medical need for the development of innovative, safer and cost-effective anabolic therapies that are able to build new bone for these patients.

About Alizé Pharma

Alizé Pharma is a group of companies specialized in the development of innovative biopharmaceutical drugs, proteins and peptides for the treatment of metabolic and rare diseases. The management is a team of drug development experts and the board of directors has a breadth of international experience. Its business strategy is to advance programs based on medical innovation to the clinical stage and establish partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to secure both short- and long-term revenue streams.

Since its creation in 2007 the group has raised €13.3 million ($16.6 million) from private and institutional investors. It has advanced two programs to the clinical phase and has also signed its first industrial partnership.

The first group entity, Alizé Pharma SAS, is working on a peptide derived from unacylated ghrelin (AZP­531). This program is in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of Prader-Willi syndrome and in Phase Ib for type 2 diabetes.

The second entity, Alizé Pharma II SAS, is focusing on the development of ASPAREC®, a new pegylated recombinant L-asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). It is partnered with Jazz Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: JAZZ) and is currently in Phase II/III clinical development.

Founded in 2014, Alizé Pharma III SAS has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize a family of new peptides with bone anabolic properties.

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