New biotech aims to alleviate suffering caused by skin diseases

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A new biotech company that aims to harness the immune system to treat a range of skin diseases will launch on Monday with $100mn in seed financing.

Alys Pharma, based in Boston and Geneva, has been founded by Medicxi, the European healthcare investment fund, with six university scientists who together have a substantial minority shareholding in the company.

New technology — particularly the application of immunology — is transforming dermatology from a low-margin pharmaceutical backwater into a fast-growing, high-value market, said Francesco De Rubertis, executive chair of Alys. “We are poised to become a leader in immuno-dermatology, with a broad pipeline including 14 active R&D programmes.”

Alys has set up six operating subsidiaries — three in the US and three in the UK — focusing on different types of skin disease and treatment mechanisms. Their targets include psoriasis, atopic dermatitis (eczema), pruritus (itching) and vitiligo (loss of skin colour).

Psoriasis drugs were the first to turn dermatology into a high value market, with sales of Stelara by Johnson & Johnson exceeding $10bn a year; four other psoriasis treatments have annual sales above $2.5bn. The next skin disorder to generate blockbusters was atopic dermatitis, led by Dupixent, developed by Regeneron and Sanofi, with 2023 sales up 34 per cent to €10.7bn.

“Alys seems very well placed to seize on the opportunity presented by biological therapies for skin diseases that have a target in the immune system,” said Christopher Griffiths, director of the Manchester Centre for Dermatology Research, who is not involved in the company. “They can now be approached in a focused way without collateral damage to the rest of the immune system.

“There is a multibillion-dollar untapped market, because these drugs are still used only for people who have very severe disease…