Mallorca’s not just for Holidays: Sanifit starts Phase II in a Rare Disease

Forget about Madrid and Barcelona, the island of Mallorca has one of the hottest Biotechs in Spain: Sanifit is targeting calciphylaxis, an orphan disease that affects the huge dialysis market.

Sanifit received the highest financing round in Spain last year (and probably ever) with €36.6M in series C. With this money, the company is advancing its candidate SNF472 in two different programs.

Just yesterday, Sanifit announced the start of Phase II clinical trials with SNF472 in calciphylaxis patients. This rare disease affects 1-4% of patients receiving dialysis due to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Calciphylaxis has a 50% death rate the first year and there are no other treatments available or under study.

The absence of competitors in this niche of the dialysis market, which is expected to hit a whopping €86B by 2020, has attracted lead investors from Europe. Among them we find Forbion Capital Partners, Edmond De Rothschild and Ysios Capital, which are in this year’s Top 18 Biotech VCs in Europe.

The company’s other program targets cardiovascular disease in ESRD and is currently in Phase IIb. This drug is a first-in-class treatment with a market potential of over €2B.

Clinical results seem good so far, and if everything goes well the company might reclaim its island’s place at the level of other more popular cities for Biotech in Spain like Barcelona or Madrid.

Featured image: Romas_Photo/shutterstock.com

Figure 1 courtesy of Sanifit