A Boston, MA-based commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, acquired Xinvento, a Netherlands-based biotech company focused on developing therapies for congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI).
According to the terms of the acquisition agreement, Rhythm B.V. will purchase 100 percent of Xinvento’s fully-diluted equity for an upfront payment of $5 million (subject to customary adjustments) with an additional payment of up to $6 million in preclinical development milestones and up to an additional $50 million payable upon certain U.S. or EU regulatory approvals. Rhythm B.V. will also pay up to an additional $150 million in certain commercial net sales milestones related to the lead candidate or a second molecule, in the event a second molecule is selected, developed, and approved.
With the acquisition, Rhythm will enhance its endocrinology focus.
Xinvento was founded in 2021 by Claudine van der Sande, an experienced biopharmaceutical leader who previously held positions at Roche and Sanofi, and whose first-hand experience as a caregiver to her son living with CHI inspired her mission to seek more effective treatment for CHI patients. Ms. van der Sande partnered with Dr. Piet Wigerinck, a medicinal chemist who served as a chief scientific officer of Galapagos for 10 years, to lead the scientific effort. Xinvento is developing novel investigational therapeutic candidates designed to improve the care of patients with CHI.
Following the closing of this acquisition, Ms. van der Sande will join Rhythm as Vice President, Head of CHI program, and will provide her deep subject matter expertise to the advancement of the CHI program.
Rhythm president and CEO David Meeker said: “As a mother and primary caregiver to a child with CHI, Claudine knows that there is a significant unmet need for new treatment options that can safely lower the frequency of hypoglycemic events and help minimise the incidence of irreversible brain damage in people born with CHI.
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“We are excited about the opportunity to expand our pipeline into CHI, a rare disease that is well aligned with our corporate strategy and our focus on rare endocrinology indications. We look forward to entering the clinic with a new therapeutic candidate in 2024.”
About Congenital Hyperinsulinism
Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is the most frequent cause of severe, random and persistent hypoglycemia in newborns and children. Hypoglycemia results from a dysregulation of insulin, which causes blood sugar levels to fall dangerously low. Without proper and immediate treatment, children with CHI may suffer seizures, coma, or even death and, longer term, patients may experience developmental delays, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and other neurological damage. The estimated incidence rate for CHI is 1:29,000 to 1:31,000, according to the literature.
About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals
Rhythm is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing peptide therapeutics for the treatment of rare genetic deficiencies that result in life-threatening metabolic disorders. Their lead peptide product candidate, setmelanotide, is a potent, first-in-class melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) agonist for the treatment of rare
genetic disorders of obesity. They believe that setmelanotide, for which they have exclusive worldwide rights, has the potential to serve as replacement therapy for the treatment of melanocortin 4, or MC4, pathway deficiencies. The MC4 pathway is a compelling target for treating these genetic disorders because of its critical role in regulating appetite and weight, and peptide therapeutics are uniquely suited to activating this target
