United Therapeutics has acquired Thymmune Therapeutics, a privately held, preclinical stage biotech developing scalable, regenerative thymic cell therapies for the potential treatment of post-transplant organ tolerance, immunodeficiencies and autoimmune diseases.
Per the deal, United will spend $140 million upfront, plus potential earn-out payments to former Thymmune equity holders of up to $160 million based on certain clinical and regulatory milestones by the end of 2031.
Thymmune has developed a proprietary process for converting human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) into thymic cells, which — once inside the body — mature into cell types that can restore healthy T-cell function. Thymmune’s lead candidate, THY-100, is in preclinical development for congenital athymia, an ultra-rare and life-threatening condition in which infants are born without a functional thymus. Animal studies have shown that treatment with THY-100 results in the in vivo formation of a neo-thymus that is capable of facilitating T-cell development.
United is working to create manufactured organs and organ alternatives to address the shortage of kidneys, hearts, lungs, and livers available for transplant. “Thymmune’s platform complements United Therapeutics’ broader mission to expand the supply of transplantable organs, building on our UThymoKidney clinical development program and our growing strength in immunomodulatory therapeutics,” said Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D., chairperson and CEO of United Therapeutics.
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