12th Jan 2021 12:46
(Alliance News) - PureTech Health PLC on Tuesday said its founded entity, Vedanta Biosciences Inc, has received a USD25 million investment from US pharma giant Pfizer Inc as part of the Pfizer Breakthrough Growth Initiative.
Shares in Boston, Massachusetts-based biotherapeutics company PureTech were up 1.5% at 397.93 in London at midday.
Through the initiative, Pfizer intends to invest as much as USD500 million by making non-controlling equity investments in clinical-stage public biotechnology companies.
Vedanta will use its USD25 million from Pfizer to fund a phase 2 study of live biotherapeutic product VE202 in inflammatory bowel disease.
The study is expected to begin in 2021 and follows topline phase 1 study data indicating that the product, consisting of a defined bacterial consortium, was generally safe and well tolerated at all doses with "demonstrated durable and dose-dependent colonization".
Michael Vincent, chief scientific officer at Pfizer's Inflammation & Immunology Research Unit, will join the Vedanta scientific advisory board at part of the investment. Vedanta is to keep control of all of its programmes and has granted right to first negotiation on VE202 to Pfizer.
By Anna Farley; [email protected]
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