The drugs, in experimental stages, can potentially treat conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, alopecia areata (baldness) and ulcerative colitis.
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The companies did not disclose the value of the transaction. A person familiar with the matter said the two drug candidates had shown “good preclinical safety and efficacy profile”, with milestone payments to Impetis staggered across various stages of research and eventual commercialisation.
The drugs are selective Janus kinase, or JAK, inhibitors, which work by blocking enzymes linked to disease progression
Vyome said in a statement that the in-licensed assets provide access to a global market estimated at $57 billion. “The transaction reinforces Vyome’s ability to source differentiated innovation across the US-India corridor and translate it into strategic value,” the company said.
Vyome said the US FDA had earlier warned that some older-generation JAK inhibitors carried safety risks because they were not selective. It added that selective JAK inhibitors such as those developed by Impetis were designed to address those concerns.