Aardvark Therapeutics Establishes Dermatology Subsidiary Ardia to Advance Novel Psoriasis Treatment DIA-615
核心洞察
Aardvark Therapeutics (搜索) has established Ardia Therapeutics (搜索) as a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary to develop its dermatology pipeline, with Bryan Jones appointed as CEO.
The subsidiary will focus on advancing DIA-615 (搜索), a clinic-ready topical treatment targeting inflammatory skin diseases (搜索) including psoriasis (搜索) through a novel GPCR (搜索) mechanism.
DIA-615 (搜索) works by inducing TAS2R receptors to downregulate stressed endoplasmic reticulum in inflammatory cells, representing a potentially differentiated approach to treating skin lesions.
Aardvark Therapeutics (搜索) has established Ardia Therapeutics (搜索) as a new wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary dedicated to developing its dermatology pipeline, with lead asset DIA-615 (搜索) positioned as a potential topical treatment for inflammatory skin diseases (搜索) including psoriasis (搜索). The company announced that Bryan Jones, Ph.D., has been named Chief Executive Officer of Ardia, transitioning from his role as Chief Operating Officer at Aardvark.
Novel Mechanism Targets Inflammatory Pathways
DIA-615 (搜索) represents a clinic-ready topical drug designed to treat a variety of inflammatory skin diseases (搜索) through a distinctive mechanism of action. The active ingredient induces specific members of a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR (搜索)) family called TAS2Rs (搜索) to downregulate stressed endoplasmic reticulum in inflammatory cells. The compound is engineered to localize in the skin and specifically target inflammatory cells that induce the lesions associated with skin diseases.
"We are proud to take this important step toward establishing Ardia as a new entity and having Bryan take the helm to advance our lead dermatologic asset, DIA-615 (搜索), into the clinic," said Tien Lee, M.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Aardvark. "We believe he is the right leader to develop Ardia's pipeline, which is focused on addressing serious unmet needs in severe skin diseases."
Experienced Leadership Transition
Jones brings over 30 years of experience with leading biotech and specialty pharmaceutical companies, including extensive roles in product and business development. He has successfully implemented multiple development programs throughout his career. Jones joined Aardvark in 2021 as Chief Business Officer and transitioned to Chief Operating Officer in August 2022.
Prior to Aardvark, Jones served as Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Sollis Therapeutics, where he led technology transfer from Medtronic, manufacturing of a drug/device combination, and execution of a Phase 3 sciatica program. He also held the position of Vice President of Operations at Sorrento Therapeutics, leading the resiniferatoxin program including manufacturing, toxicology and clinical planning, while being involved in monoclonal antibody production, antibody drug conjugate research, and cell therapy development.
"I am honored to take on this new role at Ardia, and I am excited by the potential of DIA-615 (搜索) and the opportunity to grow Ardia's dermatology portfolio which could have a lasting impact on patients," said Jones. "I am very proud of what the Aardvark team has accomplished over the past several years and look forward to unlocking the value of DIA-615."
Parent Company Focus on Metabolic Diseases
While Ardia focuses on dermatology, parent company Aardvark continues its clinical-stage development of novel small-molecule therapeutics designed to suppress hunger for the treatment of Prader-Willi Syndrome (搜索) (PWS) and metabolic diseases. The company's lead compound, oral ARD-101, is currently in Phase 3 clinical development for treating hyperphagia associated with PWS, a rare disease characterized by insatiable hunger.
Aardvark is also developing ARD-201 (搜索), a planned fixed-dose combination of ARD-101 with a DPP-4 (搜索) inhibitor, through two separate Phase 2 trials aimed at addressing limitations of currently marketed GLP-1 therapies for obesity (搜索) and obesity-related conditions. The company's approach distinguishes between hunger, defined as discomfort from not having eaten recently, and appetite, characterized as the reward-seeking desire for food.