BioWorld International Correspondent

Astion Pharma A/S raised DKK50 million (US$8.4 million) in an insider round to develop a pipeline for inflammatory skin disorders and to progress new compounds toward the clinic.

The Copenhagen, Denmark-based specialty pharma company, which raised about DKK100 million in the past 12 months, aims to move its lead program in seborrheic dermatitis into a Phase IIb trial in the fall.

"With that compound we have proof-of-concept [data] in man," Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Henrik Moltke told BioWorld International.

The condition, which has a worldwide incidence of 3 percent to 5 percent, is characterized by inflammation in skin areas where the sebaceous glands are active. Astion's drug candidate, ASF-1057, has demonstrated faster onset, a higher response rate and a superior safety profile in comparison with existing treatments, the company said.

However, Astion is not as yet disclosing information on the actual active substance. It has adopted the same policy with respect to its other two Phase II programs, as it is still filing patent applications, Moltke said. "All of them could be in Phase III next year if everything goes as we hope and plan."

ASF-1096 is in development for discoid lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune condition that causes skin lesions that can lead to permanent scarring, hair loss and which, in a minority of cases, can affect the internal organs. The company may be able to obtain fast-track status for the compound, Moltke said, if it can demonstrate equivalent efficacy and superior safety to existing treatment. ASF-1075, a photodynamic therapy, is in development for dermatitis and for pruritis or itching. The company aims to move a program in acne into the clinic by late 2006 or early 2007.

The company was established in 1992 by CEO Morten Weidner, originally to screen plant extracts for novel substances. It retains an interest in that area through a minority shareholding in a joint venture, BSP Pharma A/S, of Aarhus, Denmark. That company is about to start test marketing in the U.S. a health supplement with pain-relieving properties, BSP-201, which is derived from sheanut oil.

Astion switched its focus to immunology at the beginning of the decade. It is exploiting what Moltke called "a unique approach, based on modulating multiple cellular pathways associated with inflammatory skin disorders, to finding novel, safer and more effective therapeutics."

Its commercial strategy is based on building a sales and marketing organization in Europe to address the dermatology market. It will seek licensees in the U.S. and Japan, once it has efficacy data available.

"In Europe, many of the diseases are being treated by specialists. It's easier to build up a small sales force to address that market," Moltke said. Dermatology, although smaller than more mainstream pharmaceutical markets like depression or cancer, is underserved, he said, and there is "a huge potential if you can come up with safer drugs."

Followings its latest cash injection, Weidner remains the company's principal shareholder with about 50 percent of its equity. InnoVenture A/S, a venture capital fund based in Allerød, Denmark, has about 30 percent, and a consortium of business angels has about 10 percent. The company, which out-sources much of its clinical development work to contract research organizations, employs 18 people, but "we expect to be about 25 to 30 at the year end," Moltke said.