Concert Pharmaceuticals

The company's core business revolved around modifying known molecules by selectively incorporating deuterium, a non-radioactive isotope of hydrogen. This process aimed to improve a drug's pharmacokinetic or metabolic properties, potentially enhancing its clinical safety, tolerability, or efficacy. The business model focused on identifying previously studied compounds or approved drugs that could be meaningfully improved with this approach, thereby reducing some of the risks and timelines associated with early-stage drug development. This strategy led to collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies, including a 2009 alliance with GlaxoSmithKline to develop deuterium-modified drugs for HIV. The company went public with an IPO in 2014, raising $84 million.

Concert's lead product candidate was deuruxolitinib (formerly CTP-543), an oral inhibitor of Janus kinases (JAK1/2) for the treatment of alopecia areata, a serious autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. This condition affects up to 2.5% of the population and can have significant psychological consequences. Deuruxolitinib successfully completed two Phase 3 clinical trials, THRIVE-AA1 and THRIVE-AA2, demonstrating significant scalp hair regrowth in adults with moderate to severe alopecia areata compared to a placebo. The U.S. FDA had granted the drug Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track designations. Following the acquisition, Sun Pharma planned to continue Concert's efforts to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the FDA, aiming to make deuruxolitinib a best-in-class treatment for this unmet medical need.