Drug Company in the Making
Situation: Antibiotic resistance is an increasing problem in modern society. Pfizer’s Zyvox is the only marketed drug in its class active against key drug resistant strains in both IV and oral dosage forms. It’s sales now exceed $1B.
Strategy: Sofinnova Ventures led the Series A round to create Trius Therapeutics—a leading anti-infectives company. Our firm identified an antibiotic in the same class as Pfizer’s drug from a Korean company and negotiated the deal to bring the product to North America. We were able to build a top-flight team of experienced managers and drug developers around the product. Collectively, the Trius team used to run research divisions within two different major pharmaceutical companies and has secured approvals for nine anti-infective drugs across two continents. A robust Phase 1 clinical development program uncovered several important advantages of the Trius drug over Pfizer’s Zyvox.
Today: Trius has completed Phase 2 development with a “best-in-class” antibiotic poised to replace Pfizer’s blockbuster Zyvox. The company is now public as well, trading on Nasdaq as TSRX.
