S2, E4: Sparrow Pharmaceuticals and tackling the ravaging effects of steroids with founder David Katz and experts Dr Peter Merkel (UPenn), Dr Leon Henderson-MacLennan (InThought)
In this episode of Raising Biotech, Surani learns that it’s never too late to launch a biotech as Sparrow Pharmaceuticals was born when its founder, Dr David Katz, was ready to retire. During his long career within big pharma, David had always had his eye on solving the 75-year old puzzle of steroid side-effects. The company raised $50 million in its Series A in 2020, and now has three clinical trial programs ongoing for its HSD1-inhibitor in Cushing’s Syndrome, Autonomous Cortisol Secretion (ACS) and polymyalgia rheumatica (as a gateway to a broad range of inflammatory diseases) in combination with common steroid prednisolone. David discusses his decision to pursue this endeavor when he “should” have been retiring, challenges in getting drug licenses and investor interest, as well as plans to release Phase II data in 2024. Surani also speaks with Dr Peter Merkel, Chief of Rheumatology at the University of Pennsylvania as well as Dr Leon Henderson-MacLennan, Co-founder at InThought Research and former medical internist, to get more context on the drug’s potential in each indication and nuanced considerations for positioning the drug in the current treatment paradigm.
Timestamps:
00:35 – Partner segment: Mindgram.ai
01:05 – Background of Sparrow Therapeutics and tackling cortisol imbalances in Cushing’s Syndrome and ACS
05:34 – Sparrows mission to tackle the side-effects of common synthetic steroids for inflammatory diseases
07:50 – David’s big pharma background and his light bulb moment around HSD-1 inhibitors for glucocorticoid excess
10:30 – The decision to start a new biotech venture at a time when David was “technically” ready to retire
12:05 – Negotiating an out-licensing deal with big pharma and pitching to investors to secure $50 million in 2020
16:40 – Dr Peter Merkel talks about the HSD-1 inhibitor potential in broad and common inflammatory diseases
22:00 – Dr Leon Henderson-MacLennan gives his outside view tackling the common and significant steroid issue
23:15 – Fitting into the existing treatment paradigm of inflammatory diseases and tricky commercial considerations
25:45 – Deciding to pursue Cushing’s Syndrome to nab investor attention with a “buzz word”
27:35 – Where the drug fits in the Cushing’s paradigm and driving awareness around under-diagnosed ACS
29:15 – Tackling the tough question of pricing in three distinct indications with an existing treatment paradigm
31:20 – Ongoing Phase II clinical trials, plans for readouts later in 2024
32:00 – Sparrows plans to raise more funds and future visions for the company – M&A or IPO
This episode is partnered with Mindgram.ai, a research tool powered by AI to better serve the biopharma community. Listeners of the Raising Biotech podcast are able to get an exclusive free trial of Mindgram via this link, using the code: raisingbiotech24
For any comments, questions, feedback or suggestions you can connect directly with Surani Fernando on LinkedIn or email: [email protected]
Music composed by: Yrii Semchyshyn (Coma Media)
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