Clozel Couple Fights for Their Lifework at Idorsia - Time is Running Out
Martine and Jean-Paul Clozel achieved great success with the Swiss biotech company Actelion. Their second “baby,” Idorsia, is however in financial trouble. Even the approval of a new drug for high blood pressure is unlikely to change this.
Jean-Paul Clozel serves as CEO, his wife Martine as Research Director. Whether the company Idorsia will win its battle for survival remains to be seen.
The Basel-based company Idorsia does not lack ambition. Already at its founding seven years ago, it declared its intention to become a leading biotechnology company. And it has mentioned this aspiration in the closing credits of every press release ever since.
However, the company, which was once well-funded and is still led by the well-known medical couple Martine and Jean-Paul Clozel, has fallen on hard times. Due to a lack of money, the company was forced to make drastic cuts in the second half of last year. At its headquarters in Allschwil, 475 jobs were cut at once. Nearly 300 employees were laid off, primarily in research and development and related support functions. Around 800 people are still employed at Idorsia.
At the same time, the company withdrew its long-standing promise to break even by 2025. When it last reported on its business on October 24, 2023, it forecast an operating loss of around 670 million Swiss francs for the full year.
The couple Clozel was already behind Idorsia’s predecessor company, Actelion. This company, which was also headquartered in the Basel suburb of Allschwil, is still considered the greatest success story in the European biotech sector. Its core business at the time was acquired by the US healthcare group Johnson & Johnson (J&J) for $30 billion in 2017 - the non-acquired parts, primarily research projects, were transferred to the newly founded company Idorsia.
The fact that their second “baby” did not develop better has hit the couple hard. But on Wednesday, the couple could finally report a success once again. The US health authority granted approval for the active ingredient aprocitentan for the treatment of high blood pressure.
In a press release, Martine Clozel, who heads Idorsia’s research department as Chief Scientific Officer, is quoted as saying that the approval is “great news” for prescribing physicians and patients. Her husband, who heads the management board, says he is “very proud” of the workforce.
At the end of September 2023, the company still had cash and cash equivalents of 255 million Swiss francs. Financial analysts had already pointed out at the time that without raising fresh capital, the company would run out of money by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
As announced on Monday, the company has since received $350 million. This money comes from an agreement with the American pharmaceutical company Viatris, which has in-licensed two product candidates from Idorsia. The two active ingredients (selatogrel and cenerimod) still need to be tested for their efficacy in the final phase III of clinical development in a large group of patients. If they pass the hurdle of market approval, Idorsia is entitled to a royalty that is in the mid-single to low-double-digit percentage range.
A market launch is not expected until at least three or four years from now. Idorsia is also obliged to contribute up to $200 million to research costs over the next three years. Upon request, the company justifies this by saying that it is a partnership and that the costs are shared. However, this also means that the further development of these two drugs will continue to burden Idorsia substantially.
Even the newly approved active ingredient aprocitentan, which is now to be marketed under the brand name Tryvio, is likely to continue to drain the company’s liquidity for the time being. The market launch still needs to be prepared, and from today’s perspective, Idorsia does not seem to be very far along with this… [rest of article skipped]
Summary of the article:
- Idorsia, a Swiss biotech company founded by the Clozel couple, is facing financial difficulties.
- Despite the approval of a new drug for high blood pressure, the company’s future is uncertain.
- The company has made significant cuts and is relying on partnerships to stay afloat.
- The Clozels’ previous venture, Actelion, was a huge success, but Idorsia has struggled to replicate that success.
- Analysts are concerned about Idorsia’s ability to sustain its operations and bring its products to market.
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