Borean Pharma A/S acquired the Aarhus based biotech company Proteopharma, who holds patents for a protein that may reduce arterial cholesterol plaque and prevent blood clots – one of the Western world's leading causes of death.
By buying Proteopharma we have bought a company, knowledge and a product, which has a potential that we cannot even imagine. The possibilities with the product of Proteopharma are unique, CEO Borean Pharma Dr Riku Rautsola says.
Borean Pharma A/S holds patents for the technology that Proteopharma used in the development of its major product candidate. Combined we have a unique product which in the next phase needs to be tested in humans before it in the end will become an epoch-making drug. Because the potential here is so huge, it is the five leading pharmaceutical companies we are discussing potential collaboration with, says Dr. Riku Rautsola.
He draws attention to the fact that the world's leading pharmaceutical firm Pfizer recently bought a similar biotech company with a similar drug in its portfolio for 1.3 billion USD.
Proteopharma is leading within the development of improved versions of the naturally occurring Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) which is the major protein component of High Density Lipoproteins (HDL), the so-called "good cholesterol", which keeps arteries from accumulating brittle plaque that eventually may cause trombosis. Plasma levels of HDL and ApoA-I have been found to be inversely correlated with the incidence of atherosclerosis.
I am extremely pleased that the two companies have joined forces. With a patient population suffering from acute coronary syndrome that is estimated to be 2.3 millions alone in the western world, the trimerised ApoA-I protein has a great potential to become one of the leading pharmaceutical compounds in the battle against atherosclerosis. As the trimerised ApoA-I has been constructed by the use of Borean Pharma's proprietary trimerisation module, this drug candidate fits perfectly well into our overall business strategy, says Dr. Riku Rautsola.