Pharmaceutical firm Takeda and venture capital firm Frazier Healthcare Partners officially launched a US-based biopharmaceutical startup called Phathom Pharmaceuticals yesterday with $90m of crossover financing and $50m of debt financing.
Frazier led the equity portion of the round, investing with Medicxi, RA Capital Management, Abingworth, Janus Henderson Investors, BVF Partners, Greenspring Associates, Richard King Mellon Foundation, Sahsen Ventures and undisclosed private investors. Silicon Valley Bank supplied a $50m loan facility.
Phathom is developing treatments for gastrointestinal diseases and disorders such as constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, haemorrhoids and certain forms of cancer.
The company is working on Vonoprazan, an oral treatment licensed from Takeda that is being developed to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease and other acid-related disorders by blocking the enzyme primarily responsible for acidification of the stomach.
Phathom has the rights to develop and commercialise Vonoprazan in the US, Europe and Canada, while Takeda has received an equity stake that could be boosted by milestone payments and royalties based on net sales of the drug.
Takeda will also retain the rights to market Vonoprazan in Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, where it is already available.
Tachi Yamada and David Brooks, venture partners at Frazier Healthcare, are chairman and chief executive of Phathom, respectively. James Topper, managing general partner at Frazier, and Medicxi partner Jon Edwards have also joined its board of directors.
Asit Parikh, head of Takeda’s gastroenterology therapeutic area unit, said: “Takeda embraces collaboration to further develop and create value around promising assets where partnership makes more sense for our business.
“Phathom’s skilled leadership, with deep expertise in acid-related disorders, positions them well to expand access to Vonoprazan in North America and Europe while Takeda continues to leverage its presence in Japan and several Asian markets.”