D-Pharm

Established in April 1993 by Dr. Alex Kozak, D-Pharm is a specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, that focuses on developing proprietary drugs for brain disorders. The company operates from its facilities in the Kiryat Weizmann Science Park, which include research and development laboratories and a pilot manufacturing plant. The firm's strategy centers on its two proprietary platform technologies designed to create lipid-like medicines that interact with specific cellular pathways. These efforts have produced a portfolio of New Chemical Entities safeguarded by a range of international patents.

D-Pharm's business model revolves around the research, development, and subsequent commercialization of its drug candidates. The company has a history of advancing products through clinical trials, such as DP-b99 for stroke and DP-VPA for epilepsy, both of which reached Phase II clinical development. The company has also explored additional therapeutic applications for its main candidates, including traumatic brain injury and bipolar disorder. Its pipeline has also included pre-clinical candidates for conditions like Alzheimer's disease. Historically, the company secured capital through various funding rounds, including early-stage venture capital in 1995 and 1997, later-stage rounds, and an IPO in 2009. Over its history, D-Pharm has raised significant funding from a pool of investors that includes Apax Partners, Care Capital, and Clal Biotechnology Industries. The company was acquired in March 2018.

The company's primary market is the global pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Its clients are larger pharmaceutical companies that can take its developed drugs through late-stage trials and to market. One such example is the agreement with Shire Pharmaceuticals for the development and marketing of DP-VPA. After its acquisition, the company also became involved with cannabis-based products for international distribution. This positions the firm within both the traditional drug discovery and the emerging cannabis life sciences sectors. Keywords: specialty pharmaceutical, drug development, brain disorders, central nervous system, CNS therapeutics, lipid-like medicines, neuro-degenerative diseases, clinical development, stroke treatment, epilepsy treatment, Alzheimer's research, biopharmaceutical, drug re-engineering, venture-backed, pharmaceutical R&D, neuroprotective agent, clinical trials, proprietary drugs, patent protection, life sciences, cannabis-based products