Pfizer has made a $35 million investment — through its Pfizer "Breakthrough Growth Initiative" — in autoimmune disease treatment biotechnology company Anokion.
Anokion plans to use some of the capital to fund the second phase of its KAN-101 drug candidate for the treatment of celiac disease. Pfizer will work with Anokion to support the clinical development of KAN-101, according to an Oct. 18 Anokion news release.
"We are excited about these agreements with Pfizer as they provide us with important resources and expertise to advance our KAN-101 clinical program and our earlier-stage pipeline," Anokion CEO Deborah Geraghty, PhD, said. "People living with autoimmune diseases like celiac disease need additional treatment options, and we are excited to work with Pfizer to potentially develop these utilizing our immune tolerance platform. We also look forward to leveraging Pfizer's insights and capabilities in support of our Phase 2 clinical program in patients with celiac disease."