KPI Therapeutics

KPI Therapeutics, Inc. was established in 2013 as a development and funding consortium aimed at accelerating the progression of novel drug programs into clinical trials. The company was formed through a collaborative initiative involving five biotechnology firms and private investors, designed to enhance the efficiency of the early clinical drug validation process. The founding partners included Kineta Inc., MPI Research, Chimera Biotec, Life Chemicals Inc., and Medical Marketing Economics (MME) Inc., with Charles Magness, the President and CEO of Kineta, serving as KPI's Board Chairman. This structure was intended to pool funding and expertise to de-risk and advance promising drug candidates more efficiently than traditional industry models.

The company's business model focused on advancing translational-stage drug programs to address unmet patient needs. Initially, KPI concentrated on the most advanced projects within its partner Kineta's pipeline. The objective was for KPI to become a self-sustaining entity by generating revenue from its portfolio investments, which could then be used to identify and support new programs from other industry sources. The consortium provided services ranging from ligand-binding assay development and early clinical services to market access strategies, creating an integrated ecosystem for drug development. Some sources indicate the company is no longer active.

KPI Therapeutics' primary focus was on developing treatments for autoimmune diseases and chronic pain. The company's lead drug candidate was dalazatide (formerly ShK-186), a potent peptide inhibitor of the Kv1.3 potassium channel, which plays a key role in the activation of effector memory T-cells implicated in various autoimmune diseases. Dalazatide completed a Phase 1b trial and showed preclinical activity in conditions such as psoriatic arthritis, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and multiple sclerosis. In 2016, the company expanded its research programs to develop topical biologic Kv1.3 inhibitors for skin and eye diseases like Atopic Dermatitis, Dry Eye Syndrome, and Uveitis. The portfolio also included compounds for antiviral and non-narcotic pain therapies.

Keywords: drug development consortium, translational medicine, clinical trials, autoimmune diseases, chronic pain therapy, dalazatide, ShK-186, Kv1.3 inhibitor, Kineta, peptide therapeutics, psoriatic arthritis, lupus treatment, psoriasis treatment, non-narcotic pain relief, topical biologics, biotechnology funding model, collaborative drug development, T-cell activation, immune-sparing therapeutic, clinical-stage biotech