Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, announced that it has acquired Thiakis Limited, a privately held biotechnology company based in the United Kingdom. Thiakis' lead product candidate, TKS1225, is being studied for the treatment of medical obesity and other co-morbidities. TKS1225 and related compounds are synthetic versions of the natural gastrointestinal peptide oxyntomodulin.
Under the terms of the transaction, Wyeth acquires Thiakis for approximately $30 million. Additional payments of up to approximately $120 million would be payable upon the achievement of certain development milestones.
"This acquisition is evidence of our commitment to develop and bring to market innovative, high-value medicines that have the potential to address significant unmet needs in critical therapeutic areas such as metabolic disorders," says Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., president, Wyeth Research. "Thiakis' research and development programme fits well with our goal of addressing the medical burden of obesity in a targeted manner using biologic-based therapies."
Wyeth has significant ongoing research in metabolic diseases and is a leader in the development and commercialization of biotechnology-based drugs.
"As we take this important step with Wyeth, we are certain we have chosen the right company to follow through on our vision and commitment to develop and commercialize important new therapies that help address the growing worldwide medical epidemic of obesity," says John Burt, D.Phil. ACMA, chief executive officer and co-founder of Thiakis.
Based on World Health Organization estimates, globally at least 300 million are obese. Excess body weight is associated with numerous medical conditions including Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis and sleep apnea.
Oxyntomodulin is a 37 amino acid peptide. Its role in the control of appetite has recently emerged. TKS1225 is a novel, long-acting synthetic peptide analogue of oxyntomodulin in early clinical development for medical obesity.
Thiakis Limited was founded in 2004 in London, UK with a focus on developing novel medicines for the treatment of obesity and co-morbidities based on original research conducted by Professor Steve Bloom and his colleagues at Imperial College London.
Wyeth is one of the world's largest research-driven pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products and non-prescription medicines that improve the quality of life for people worldwide.