Skip to main content

Rhizen drug secures approval in the USA

| News

Rhizen drug secures approval in the USA

10.02.2021

The United States Food and Drug Administration has granted accelerated approval for the drug Umbralisib. Basel biotech Rhizen has discovered this inhibitor for the treatment of cancer.

Swaroop Vakkalanka, President and CEO of Rhizen Pharmaceuticals (img: Rhizen)

Rhizen Pharmaceuticals has discovered Umbralisib, a medication that has now been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with certain types of marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) and follicular lymphoma (FL). Rhizen licensed the inhibitor to TG Therapeutics based in the USA, which also did its total clinical development. The Basel biotech has retained commercialization rights for India as well as being the manufacturing and supply partner for Umbralisib, as was reported in a press release.

Umbralisib is an oral, once daily, inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3 kinase delta and casein kinase 1 epsilon. “Umbralisib’s approval offers MZL and FL patients a new treatment option and is a huge validation of Rhizen’s drug discovery & development capabilities,“ said Swaroop Vakkalanka, President & CEO of Rhizen Pharmaceuticals, in the press release.

Rhizen relocated from La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel to Basel in December 2020, with support from Basel Area Business & Innovation, the investment and innovation promotion agency. At the new main location in Basel, the clinical development and commercialization of the novel oncology and inflammation medicines are to be promoted. In particular, Rhizen wants to benefit from the proximity to the Basel Area life sciences cluster. It furthermore plans to grow and create local jobs, so the highly qualified talent offered by Basel was another key factor.

“Basel with its vibrant biotech and pharma ecosystem offers the best opportunity for Rhizen to expand and focus on clinical development of its rich pipeline of investigational drugs,” explained Vakkalanka.

Share this article

Sign up to receive our newsletter in your inbox.

You may also be interested in

The power of a persuasive pitch deck

Are you an entrepreneur striving to secure investment for your biotech startup? Start with an effective pitch deck to catch...
Read More

Roche investing an additional 1.2 billion Swiss francs in Basel

Roche will be putting an additional 1.2 billion Swiss francs towards the renovation of its site in Basel. This investment...
Read More

Nouscom secures 67.5 million euros in financing

Biotech company Nouscom has raised 67.5 million euros in a series C financing round. The Basel-based firm intends to use...
Read More

Celebrating six months of innovation: i4Challenge accelerator New Ideas 2022/2023

On the 5th of July 2023, the 3rd iteration of the i4Challenge accelerator program New Ideas came to its conclusion....
Read More

How open innovation in healthtech hubs is fueling the rise of digital healthcare

How the ever-increasing uptake of digital solutions is enhancing patient engagement, increasing access to care and lowering the cost of...
Read More

How to access the U.S. market with your medical device

In one of our latest Venture Mentoring events by Basel Are Business & Innovation, we invited Nila-Pia Rähle to speak...
Read More

Do you have a question? We'd like to hear from you.