Vtesse is a newly-launched company in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The company has struck a deal with the U.S. National Institutes of Health to develop clinical trials for a drug called cyclodextrin. The drug is a candidate therapy for Niemann-Pick Type C disease.
Vtesse is the first spinoff company from Cydan Development. Cydan has raised $25 million to date from a consortium of life science investors.
The joint effort was a product of the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). This organization was established in 2011 to accelerate the development of treatments for genetic diseases.
Niemann-Pick Type C disease is a rare genetic condition that impairs the body’s ability to store lipids (fats). With the disease, cholesterol accumulates in the cells’ lysosomes, causing problems with the nervous system, liver, and other organs. Most children born with NPC die before they reach adulthood.
In relation to the drug being trialed, cyclodextrins are rings of sugar molecules commonly used to improve the solubility of drug compounds. Vtesse now holds the license to a form of cyclodextrin. The company plans to begin Phase 2 and 3 trials later this year to assess the drug’s efficacy at treating NPC in children.
In addition, the company is also evaluating delta-tocopherol, a form of vitamin E, as a potential treatment for lyososomal storage diseases.
