Sparrow Pharmaceuticals announces strategic pivot and Series A preferred equity round

Based on information that became public between late 2019 and mid-February 2020, Sparrow Pharmaceuticals has recognized an opportunity to develop SPI-62, its best-in-class, proprietary HSD-1 inhibitor, as a potential new treatment for endogenous Cushing’s syndrome.

Endogenous Cushing’s is a rare condition (12,000 US patients) caused by excess production of the natural steroid cortisol due to a tumor. Current global sales of endogenous Cushing’s medicines approach $400M, with large growth potential for a superior new product. HSD-1 inhibition has clinical proof-of-concept in endogenous Cushing’s. SPI-62 has demonstrated superior safety and convenience to current and late-stage pipeline endogenous Cushing’s medicines.

Sparrow will continue to pursue development of novel, proprietary medicines for exogenous Cushing’s syndrome, caused by long-term exposure to steroid drugs such as prednisone. Two million US patients rely on long-term steroid therapy to control autoimmune diseases and other conditions. No available autoimmune disease medicine is strong on all of efficacy, safety, convenience, and cost-effectiveness. The Company aims to deliver that combination of attributes with a fixed-dose combination tablet of SPI-62 and prednisolone. Sparrow forecasts a $14B US total addressable market for such next-generation steroid products.

SPI-62, and the Company’s second proprietary HSD-1 inhibitor SPI-09, can also be used to develop next-generation steroid products with other administration routes such as ocular and topical.

Sparrow will offer $20M of Series A preferred equity to develop SPI-62 to Phase 3 readiness as a novel treatment for endogenous Cushing’s. The data from a Phase 2 clinical trial of SPI-62 in patients with endogenous Cushing’s will also be informative for design of Phase 2 clinical trials of SPI-62 + prednisolone to prevent exogenous Cushing’s in patients with autoimmune diseases. Interested parties are invited to contact Sparrow’s CEO David Katz, Ph.D.

Learn more from Sparrow’s recent news release.

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