Zambon heading to US market with €500m acquisition

In the largest deal, Zambon SpA has ever landed, the Italian pharma will pay €140m upfront to Breath Therapeutics BV, which is eglible to receive further €360m in milestones. The 2017 spin-out of Pari GmbH, the developer of the eFlow nebulizer technology, evaluates a novel, liposomal formulation of Cyclosporine A (isL-CsA-i) in a pivotal Phase III trial, in the US and the EU, respectively, in Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS), an orphan inflammatory respiratory disease that affects 30,000 patients and leads to death two years upon diagnosis. 50% of lung transplant patients develop the currently uncurable syndrome

For Sofinnova Partners, Gimv and Gilde Healthcare, which invested €43,5m in a Series A round in Breath Therapeutics the acquisition is a good exit. Zambon might benefit from the take over by acquiring a fully developed commercialization infrastructure, including production  for  the  drug  and  the device, as well as a management team rooted in the US market.

According to Roberto Tascione, Chief Executive Officer at Zambon, the take-over complements Zambon's late-stage pipeline, complements the company‘s geographic footprint, R&D infrastructure and relationships with the scientific communities. If the isL-CsA-i/nebulizer combo demonstrates it can significantly improve forced expiratory volume (FEV) – the primary endpoint in the pivotal trials, which will have read-out in 2021 – it could be ready for commercialization by 2023. Zambon's expansion into the  US  aims at maximizing Zambon's commercial reach and attract investors.