Roivant launches Respivant Sciences to develop drugs for respiratory diseases

Roivant Sciences has launched a new biopharma company named Respivant Sciences which will focus on developing innovative therapeutics for serious respiratory diseases.

The new biopharma company of Roivant Sciences will be headed by Bill Gerhart – CEO, Ahmet Tutuncu – Executive Vice President for Clinical and Regulatory, and Pravin Soni – Executive Vice President for Development and Manufacturing.

The pipeline of Respivant Sciences will be led by the inhaled therapeutic RVT-1601, which is being developed for chronic cough treatment in patients having idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

Earlier this month, Roivant Sciences closed a deal with Patara Pharma to acquire worldwide rights to PA101, a formulation of inhaled cromolyn sodium, which has been renamed as RVT-1601.

According to Roivant Sciences, RVT-1601 is a mast cell stabilizer having pleotropic immune modulating properties. The inhaled therapeutic is directly delivered to the lungs through a handheld aerosol device that creates a soft mist for patients to easily inhale.

RVT-1601, after 14 days of treatment, in a phase 2a trial significantly brought down cough frequency among idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients.

Respivant Sciences is looking to launch a phase 2b study for RVT-1601 in Q1 2019.

Bill Gerhart – Respivant Sciences CEO, commenting on the RVT-1601 inhaled therapeutic, said: “Almost all IPF patients suffer from a dry, persistent chronic cough, and for many of them this cough can have a debilitating physical and psychosocial impact on their quality of life.

“Based on the positive results in our Phase 2a study, we are very excited about the potential for developing the first approved therapy for this leading cause of poor quality of life in IPF patients.”

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