Pivot Pharmaceuticals will acquire IndUS Pharmaceuticals for an undisclosed price, the companies said today, in a deal that expands the buyer’s therapeutic areas into oncology, metabolic disorders, and infectious diseases.
Pivot specializes in developing new therapeutic uses for existing drugs to treat unmet conditions related to women's health. Pivot reasons that by repositioning existing drugs, the company will enjoy a shorter, cheaper, and simpler regulatory approval process that will result in a shorter path to return on investment.
Pivot’s pipeline includes three candidates for the treatment of gynecological disturbances: PVT-001 for dysmenorrhea in women aged 15-25 years old; PVT-002 for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), including filling and voiding issues; and PVT-003 for menopausal symptoms (hot flushes).
IndUS Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held US-India cross-border pharmaceutical company based in Vancouver, BC, focuses on the discovery and development of new drugs for cancer, infectious diseases, and diabetes.
IndUS has licensed intellectual property from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) institute; and carries out biology and clinical development expertise in the U.S.
In a statement, IndUS CEO Pravin Chaturvedi, Ph.D., said he looked forward to having one or more of the company’s novel drug candidates enter clinical trials by the fourth quarter of 2016. He said IndUS would benefit through an expansion into women’s health.
“I foresee a highly productive team that will continue to leverage the pharmaceutical research and development expertise and experience in high growth therapeutic areas of women's health including gynecological and breast cancer,” Dr. Chaturvedi added.
Pivot said it would immediately benefit from IndUS’ partnership with the institute.
“The acquisition of IndUS and its patent portfolio immediately strengthens Pivot's pipeline targeting unmet medical needs,” stated Pivot Chairman Ahmad Doroudian, Ph.D.
Headquartered in Boston, Pivot renamed itself from Neurokine Pharmaceuticals on April 7, and a month later announced the new name and appointment of its current CEO, BJ Bormann, Ph.D.
The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, the companies said.
