Viamet Pharmaceuticals will work with the National Institutes of Health to develop one of the company’s compounds into a treatment for the fungal infection cryptococcal meningitis.
An antifungal compound from Morrisville, North Carolina-based Viamet has been selected for inclusion in the NIH’s Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases Program, a government-funded program designed to speed developments of new therapies for rare and neglected diseases. Viamet’s compound was one of only four selected for funding. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Behavioral Health, Interoperability and eConsent: Meeting the Demands of CMS Final Rule Compliance
In a webinar on April 16 at 1pm ET, Aneesh Chopra will moderate a discussion with executives from DocuSign, Velatura, and behavioral health providers on eConsent, health information exchange and compliance with the CMS Final Rule on interoperability.
Cryptococcal meningitis is a fungal infection that affects the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. It afflicts more than 1 million people in the developing world annually and kills about 500,000, according to research reports.
Viamet President and CEO Dr. Robert Schotzinger said in a statement that animal tests show that the Viamet compound selected for the NIH program has shown better efficacy against cryptococcal meningitis compared to standard therapies.
“With the significant financial support of the TRND program, we will be able to rapidly move this promising therapy forward in development,” Schotzinger said.
Viamet has developed a proprietary technology that helps develop drugs that shut down the actions of enzymes that need the presence of a metal to start chemical reactions. The company’s proprietary “metalophile technology” has been used to develop compounds that address unmet medical needs in oncology and infectious disease. Viamet last year signed a licensing deal with Novartis (NYSE:NVS) that could bring Viamet up to $200 million if the company’s technology can develop certain enzymes for the Swiss pharma giant.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Viamet was co-founded by Holden Thorp, who is now chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The company has raised more than $24 million in venture capital from investors that include Intersouth Partners, Hatteras Venture Partners, Novartis Option Fund, Lilly Ventures, Lurie Investment Fund, Astellas Venture Management and Headlands Ventures.
