Nitec Pharma AG

About Nitec Pharma AG

Nitec Pharma AG was a specialty pharmaceutical company established in 2004 as a spin-out from the German firm Merck KGaA. Based in Reinach, Switzerland, the company concentrated on the development and commercialization of treatments for chronic inflammation and pain-related diseases. Its operational focus was on creating improved formulations of existing drugs to offer better patient outcomes.

The company's lead product was Lodotra™, a proprietary, single-pulse delayed-release tablet of low-dose prednisone. This product was specifically engineered to address the common issue of morning stiffness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis by being administered at night and releasing the active ingredient hours later, counteracting the body's overnight inflammatory processes. The technology behind this night-time release was SkyePharma's GEOCLOCK system. Nitec's business model involved advancing this asset through clinical trials and securing regulatory approval, which it successfully did in Europe. Revenue generation was structured around marketing and distribution partnerships, such as granting Merck KGaA the marketing rights for Lodotra in Germany and Austria and Mundipharma for the rest of Europe.

After its foundation, Nitec secured significant venture capital funding through multiple rounds to advance its pipeline, attracting investors like Atlas Venture, Global Life Science Ventures, NGN Capital, and TVM Capital. A significant milestone was achieved in January 2009, when Lodotra received a recommendation for regulatory approval across 15 European countries for treating rheumatoid arthritis. The company's trajectory culminated in April 2010 when it merged with the U.S.-based Horizon Therapeutics in an all-stock transaction. This strategic combination created a new entity, Horizon Pharma, Inc., which integrated Nitec's European-approved product with Horizon's late-stage pipeline. Following the merger, Nitec Pharma AG was renamed Horizon Pharma AG, serving as the Swiss subsidiary of the newly formed company.