Pfizer buys stake in liver gene therapy player Vivet

In the course of its current gene therapy expansion, Pfizer acquired a 15% stake in the Paris-based company that is expected to start Phase I/II trials in patients with Wilson Disease early next year. If Pfizer excercises the option, Vivet could cash in additional €560m in milestone related fees. Upon the agreement, Pfizer's VP of Worldwide Business Development Monika Vnuk will join Vivet’s board.

Vivet‘s most advanced preclinical asset, VTX-801, is an AAV-based gene therapy delivering a gene fragment of the  ATP7B gene that repairs the dysfunctional expression of the ATPase Cu²⁺ transporting β polypeptide, which form a channel through in liver cell membranes for Cu²⁺ translocation.

The French company will use the assets to accelerate development of other pipeline candidates targeting liver diseases. Vivet, however, has some years to go vs Wilson Therapeutics that is already in Phase III studies of another promising candidate drug for Wilson's disease.