Novartis has agreed to acquire Ziarco Group, a Kent, England-based privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on dermatology. The acquisition would reinforce Novartis’ dermatology pipeline with a once-daily oral drug that Ziarco is developing for treating eczema.

Ziarco was formed in 2012 with a portfolio of programs that were in-licensed from Pfizer for which Ziargo got exclusive worldwide rights. Ziarco’s lead investigational product, ZPL389, is an oral histamine H4 receptor antagonist being developed to treat moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, commonly known as eczema.

Novartis’ dermatology portfolio includes Cosentyx (secukinumab) for treating moderate-to-severe psoriasis and Xolair (omalizumab) for treating chronic spontaneous urticaria.

The acquisition of Ziarco is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. The financial details of this transaction were not disclosed.

Source: Novartis