Tranzyme Highlights
First-in-class Therapeutics for Unmet Medical Needs
Tranzyme Pharma's strategy is to identify and develop novel, effective and safe drugs for the treatment of both acute (hospital-based) and chronic disorders with significant unmet medical need.
Tranzyme currently has two drug candidates, TZP-101 and TZP-102, in late stage clinical trials. Both are ghrelin receptor agonists with potent prokinetic properties and represent the first in their class to enter clinical trials. In the near future, the Company will initiate a Phase 3 study with TZP-101 for the management of postoperative ileus, and expects to complete a Phase 2 trial with TZP-102 for the treatment of gastroparesis.
Tranzyme is also developing therapeutics to treat various forms of moderate-to-severe diarrhea, such as chemotherapy-induced diarrhea (CID), and obesity and metabolic syndrome.
Pipeline Focused on Key Validated Targets
Tranzyme Pharma's current pipeline of drug candidates targets two key validated receptors, ghrelin and motilin, that regulate gastrointestinal (GI) motility, appetite and metabolism. The ghrelin receptor is responsible for upper gut motility, appetite regulation and energy balance. The motilin receptor is associated with the general regulation of gastrointestinal transit.
The ghrelin receptor is a drug target of high interest in the pharmaceutical industry. Tranzyme's ghrelin agonists, TZP-101 and TZP-102, have been uniquely optimized for their GI activity and are potential breakthrough blockbuster drugs. Ghrelin agonists are considered one of the most exciting new drug prospects by gastroenterologists and leading clinical experts have expressed a high degree of interest in them.
Likewise, the motilin receptor has been identified as a key pharmaceutical target for GI disorders due to its critical regulatory role in the GI physiological system where it governs fasting motor activity. This receptor controls gastric motility by inducing the contraction of gastrointestinal smooth muscle thereby decreasing intestinal transit time and initiating phase III of the migrating motor complex (MMC) in the small bowel. However, to date, the development of small molecule therapeutic agents designed to effectively modulate this receptor has proven elusive. Motilin antagonists in particular would be quite useful in treating GI diseases characterized by hypermotility. Tranzyme's motilin antagonist, TZP-201, has demonstrated efficacy in multiple animal models of disease, including chemotherapy-induced diarrhea and functional GI disorders.
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Products Based on Proprietary Macrocyclic Drugs
Tranzyme's pipeline of products originates from its proprietary Macrocyclic Template Chemistry (MATCH™). MATCH™ is a drug design and medicinal chemistry platform which exploits the potential of macrocycles, a distinct compound class that displays the favorable characteristics exhibited by large biomolecules, while maintaining the benefits typically associated with small molecule drugs. Outside of Tranzyme's current development focus, MATCH™ has broad applicability in the treatment of other diseases that involve hormones, peptides, ion channels, or protein-protein interaction pathways.
Product Focused Business Strategy
Tranzyme's strategy is to license certain rights to its drug development programs once proof of concept in man is achieved, or when a program may benefit from the research, development and commercialization capabilities of a partner. Through these strategic partnerships, Tranzyme intends to balance risk while preserving the potential for significant returns.
