Armetheon

About Armetheon

Armetheon operated as a late-clinical stage specialty pharmaceutical company with a dedicated focus on the cardiovascular sector. The company was co-founded by Peter G. Milner, MD, who served as Executive Chairman. Dr. Milner is a physician-scientist, board-certified cardiologist, and serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in drug development. His career includes co-founding successful biotechnology companies like CV Therapeutics, which was acquired by Gilead for $1.5 billion, and ARYx Therapeutics. Another co-founder was M. (Mory) Ejabat, a recognized telecommunications pioneer with a background as CEO of Zhone Technologies and President and CEO of Ascend Communications. His experience lies in engineering and executive management, holding degrees in industrial and systems engineering, as well as an MBA.

Armetheon concentrated on developing medicines to address significant unmet needs in cardiovascular diseases, particularly in thrombosis and cardiac arrhythmias. The company's business model revolved around advancing improved therapies through the clinical trial process with the goal of achieving increased efficacy and safety for specialty markets with clear regulatory pathways. Its leading drug candidate was tecarfarin, an oral anticoagulant designed as a potential alternative to warfarin for patients requiring anticoagulation with a Vitamin K antagonist. Tecarfarin was notable for avoiding CYP450 metabolism and renal elimination, targeting a U.S. patient population of at least 1.7 million. The company was also developing budiodarone, an anti-arrhythmic drug candidate for treating refractory atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia.

In a significant strategic move during the second quarter of 2017, Armetheon merged with Espero Pharmaceuticals to form Espero BioPharma, Inc. This merger was designed to create a larger entity with a portfolio of FDA-approved products, a robust late-stage pipeline from Armetheon, and the commercialization expertise of Espero. The transaction positioned the newly formed Espero BioPharma to advance tecarfarin through a final pivotal trial agreed upon with the FDA, while leveraging Espero's existing commercial products like GoNitro. Following the merger, Dr. Milner joined the board of the new company. By June 2020, the assets of Espero BioPharma, including the Phase III-ready tecarfarin, were offered for sale.