VALHALLA
THERAPEUTICS
Biotechnology for better health
Valhalla Therapeutics is a privately-held biopharmaceutical development company that is paving the way for early commercialization of groundbreaking therapeutic technology! Founded in 2019 and based in Berwyn, PA, we're on a thrilling journey to revolutionize healthcare!
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Our pipeline represents our philosophy of identifying the best unique approaches to fill the underserved therapeutic needs of disease states. As new mechanisms of action can offer a larger impact beyond incremental advances in treatment over current therapies, we strive to develop novel classes of agents possessing breakthrough potential to help patients, reduce healthcare costs and deliver maximal ROI for our investors rather than developing “me-too” follow-on drugs.
Halting The Progression Of Type 2 Diabetes
is our most advanced program currently in the pre-IND stage of development. Based on the breakthrough research conducted by Dr. Salim Merali and Dr. Wayne Childers at Temple University, VTX-31 is a designer compound with a novel mechanism of action that directly inhibits the lipotoxicity induced by highly elevated fatty acid levels causing insulin-resistance of Type 2 diabetes and ultimately leading to its complications. Studies in multiple animal models of genetic Type 2 diabetes and diet-induced obesity/Type 2 diabetes have demonstrated reversal of insulin-resistance by increasing glucose uptake into various tissues and providing long-term glucose control. We are actively pursuing private and non-dilutive funding for this program as it is IND-capable.
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No agent has been developed that directly addresses the underlying cause of T2D
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Restoring Vascular Blood Flow To Tissues In Type 1 and 2 Diabetes
Restoring Vascular Blood Flow To Tissues In Type 1 and 2 Diabetes
is a monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to the RAGE receptor that is activated by Advanced Glycation Endproducts (A.G.E.s) as part of the glucotoxicity of diabetes. As a consequence, blood flow and new vessel formation is inhibited preventing the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to tissues giving rise to cell damage and development of diabetic complications. VTX-4 was developed by Dr. Lynne Johnson and her colleagues at Columbia University and extensively studied in mouse and pig models of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. These studies demonstrated the ability to create new blood vessels, restore tissue blood flow, prevent muscle mass loss and accelerate diabetic wound healing by inhibiting RAGE activation. The program is in preclinical development with an SBIR Phase I grant recently submitted for further pharmacological profiling.
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No current agent exists that restores blood flow and has a significant effect on the development of diabetic complications.
Increasing Brain Lysosomal Activity To Reduce Brain Damage In Gauchers
The VTX-GD program has identified several primary lead agents derived by screening a chemical library. The aim of the program is to identify a compound with a novel mechanism of action to increase the function of the brain form of the enzyme β-glucocerebrosidase that is defective in neuronal Gaucher Disease (nGD), a rare infant disease that leads to early death. Using a novel, high-throughput cell-based screening assay developed at Temple University, the best “hit” was used for preliminary structure-activity medicinal chemistry studies to enhance potency and pharmacological parameters. The discovery was made by Dr. Wayne Childers and Dr. Marlene Jacobson. There is additional potential for use in a subpopulation of Parkinson’s patients with a similar genetic mutation in the β-glucocerebrosidase enzyme. The program is at the lead optimization stage with an STTR grant submitted for further medicinal chemistry, pharmacokinetic profiling and testing efficacy in a mouse model of nGD.
Unlike peripheral GD, no therapy exists for treating neuronal GD