Vicus Therapeutics

About Vicus Therapeutics

Founded in 2005, Vicus Therapeutics was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, that focused on developing immunotherapies for cancer patients. The company was founded and led by President and CEO John Maki, an experienced life sciences executive and investor with a background at Bain Capital and an economics degree from Harvard University. Vicus Therapeutics ceased operations and is now considered a deadpooled company.

The company's core strategy involved a hypothesis-driven, drug re-profiling approach. It aimed to create combination therapies from existing, marketed drugs to target the biological processes that cause diseases, particularly in oncology supportive care. This model was intended to reduce the cost, time, and risk typically associated with clinical drug development. The business model focused on developing these product candidates through clinical trials, with the ultimate goal of securing partnerships with larger pharmaceutical companies to commercialize the treatments.

Vicus's lead product candidate was VT-122, an oral, chrono-modulated, fixed-dose combination of etodolac (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and propranolol (a beta-blocker). This drug was designed to inhibit signaling pathways, such as prostaglandin and beta-adrenergic systems, that promote tumor growth and to restore a tumor-suppressing immune state. VT-122 was investigated primarily for treating cancer cachexia, a severe wasting condition common in advanced cancer, and also showed promise in combination therapies for advanced liver and pancreatic cancer. The company successfully completed a Phase 2 trial for cancer cachexia and initiated trials for other indications, conducting clinical studies in the United States and India.