Talphera Acquires Lowell Therapeutics

Lowell Therapeutics is a privately held company developing Niyad, a regional anticoagulant for the dialysis circuit during continuous renal replacement therapy for acute kidney injury patients in the hospital. Niyad is being studied under an investigational device exemption, or IDE, and has received Breakthrough Device Designation status from the FDA. While not approved for commercial use in the U.S., the active drug component of Niyad, nafamostat, has been approved in Japan and South Korea as a regional anticoagulant for the dialysis circuit, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and acute pancreatitis. Niyad is a lyophilized formulation of nafamostat, a broad-spectrum, synthetic serine protease inhibitor, with anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, and potential anti-viral activities. The second intended indication for Niyad is as a regional anticoagulant for the dialysis circuit for chronic kidney disease patients undergoing intermittent hemodialysis in dialysis centers. LTX-608 is Lowell's proprietary nafamostat formulation for direct IV infusion being developed for the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Lowell Therapeutics is based in Lowell, Massachusetts.