Tercica

Tercica, Inc. was a biopharmaceutical firm headquartered in Brisbane, California, that concentrated on developing and marketing products for endocrine health. Founded in 2002 by Ross Clark, the company's primary focus was on therapeutics for endocrine and metabolic diseases. Tercica's core business revolved around the development of treatments for growth-related disorders.

The company's main product was Increlex, also known as mecasermin, a recombinant human Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (rhIGF-1). Tercica licensed the rights to develop, manufacture, and market Increlex from Genentech, Inc. This product was developed as a long-term therapy for children experiencing growth failure due to severe primary IGF-1 deficiency (Primary IGFD). It was also intended for children with growth hormone gene deletion who had developed neutralizing antibodies to growth hormone. Tercica successfully navigated the drug through Phase III clinical trials to assess its safety and effectiveness. The company's business model was centered on the research, development, and subsequent commercialization of this specialized biopharmaceutical product.

A significant event in Tercica's history was a patent infringement case against Insmed, which was settled in 2007. The settlement required Insmed to cease selling its competing product, Iplex, in the United States for growth deficiencies. In 2008, the French pharmaceutical company Ipsen Group acquired Tercica for approximately $373 million, and Tercica was subsequently renamed Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. At the time of the acquisition, Tercica had raised a total of $65.5 million in funding over two rounds. Keywords: biopharmaceutical, endocrinology, metabolic diseases, Increlex, rhIGF-1, growth disorders, Genentech, Ipsen, clinical trials, patent infringement