Purdue acquires promising pain treatment

STAMFORD, Conn. — Purdue Pharma this week announced that it had VM902A, acquired an allosteric selective tropmyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA) inhibitor, from VM Pharma. TrkA inhibitors are part of a growing class of pain management therapies. VM902A has been tested in Phase I clinical trials, and Purdue plans to continue trials, with Phase II enrollment opening in early 2016.

“As leaders in the pain market, Purdue Pharma’s proven expertise in developing and commercializing therapies for pain, makes them the ideal company to advance the work of the VM Pharma team,” said Jay Wu, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, VM Pharma LLC. “I have confidence they will take this TrKA program forward to develop innovative pain management therapies.”

Under the agreement, VM Pharma received an upfront payment, which when combined with development, regulatory and commercial development payments could end up totaling $213 million.

Purdue sees a lot of potential in the new acquisition.

“The TrKA mechanism and VM-902A specifically hold great promise in treating pain,” Purdue president and CEO Mark Timney said. “This acquisition expands and diversifies our pipeline by adding a potentially innovative non-opioid, non-NSAID treatment to our portfolio.”