Launch of Turing Pharmaceuticals announced – new drug company to focus on treating unmet medical needs across broad therapeutic areas

Turing Pharmaceuticals AG announced its official launch today, along with news of three acquisitions for its commercial operations and development pipeline.  The company also introduced its senior management team.

New York-based Turing will focus on developing and commercializing innovative treatments for serious diseases and conditions across a broad range of therapeutic areas, for which there are currently limited or no treatment options.

Turing’s Founder and Executive Chairman is Martin Shkreli, who has a history of success in the drug industry as founder and former CEO of Retrophin, Inc. (NASDAQ:RTRX).  At Retrophin, Mr. Shkreli led the acquisition of three key products in the six months following the company’s IPO in 2014, and significantly accelerated their commercial success.

In addition to Mr. Shkreli, Turing has assembled a management team comprised of senior executives with extensive experience in the drug industry, including:

• Howard Dorfman – SVP, General Counsel; Mr. Dorfman formerly worked at Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Pharmaceuticals (US) as well as at law firm Ropes & Gray
• Hass Patel, Ph.D. –VP for Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls; Dr. Patel was previously with Pharmasset, Reliant Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline
• Nicholas Pelliccione, Ph.D. – VP, Regulatory affairs; Dr. Pelliccione was formerly with Schering-Plough, Regado Biosciences, Aeterna Zenaris and Chugai Pharma USA
• Michael Harrison – Chief Financial Officer; Mr. Harrison was formerly with Retrophin
• Nancy Retzlaff – Chief Commercial Officer; Ms. Retzlaff joins in early March from Mesoblast Ltd.; she was previously with Pfizer, Schering-Plough and Bayer
• Megan Roberts, Ph.D. – VP and Product Leader for Vecamyl; Dr. Roberts previously worked at Genentech and BioMarin

“Our success in bringing to market a line of new therapeutic products very much depends on the caliber of our people,” Mr. Shkreli said.  “We’re thrilled to have assembled such a strong bench of senior talent for our launch and look forward to announcing additional key positions in due course.”

Simultaneous to its launch, Turing announced the acquisition of three major assets from Retrophin:  an intranasal formulation of ketamine, Syntocinon® (oxytocin nasal solution) and Vecamyl® (mecamylamine HCl tablets).

Turing is developing its new intranasal formulation of ketamine for a variety of psychiatric indications.  The company is making significant investments in a novel delivery mechanism and other innovations to develop ketamine for the treatment of several serious psychiatric conditions for patients who currently have limited treatment options, and expects to commence clinical trials in the coming year.

Turing’s plans further include a development program for Syntocinon® in addressing multiple indications across several therapeutic areas. 

The acquisition of Vecamyl® provides Turing with its first FDA-approved product and revenue stream, which it plans to grow through a robust clinical development and education program.

Turing’s strategic focus is to acquire and advance development of external compounds while also pursuing internal drug discovery through proprietary research and development to best address the needs of diverse patient populations.  Reflecting its mission to address unmet medical needs, Turing has also acquired two early-stage compounds to be developed for various orphan drug indications. The company is strongly committed to growing shareholder value.

“Our goal is to build a diverse portfolio and pipeline of therapies that can make a significant difference to patients,” Mr. Shkreli said. “We are creating a strong, experienced team at Turing with a solid track record of success to execute on our objectives.”