Company overview
Company overview
Kither Biotech is biopharmaceutical company with the mission of identifying and developing new drug candidates for the treatment of rare pulmonary diseases. Our first two product candidates KIT2014 and KITCL27, a focus on cystic fibrosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis respectively.
Kither Biotech was founded in November 2011. A spin-off of the University of Turin, the company launched its commercial activities by providing a spectrum of in vitro and in vivo screening services to pharmaceutical companies. Over the years, we have gained extensive experience in murine preclinical models of lung diseases, and our research and development activities aim to generate new compounds for the treatment of those pathologies.
Kither Biotech team members have achieved significant scientific results by focusing on PI3K enzymes. Our first-line activities seek to optimise an internally developed small peptide for the treatment of cystic fibrosis as well as a proprietary developed small molecule for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Kither Biotech actively collaborates with the University of Turin’s Molecular Biotechnology Centre and other research centres around the world.
The company’s leading candidate, KIT2014, is protected by a family of international patents and has already received Orphan drug designation from the European Medicines Agency. Its highly promising preclinical results, which have been replicated at the world’s leading cystic fibrosis research centres (including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), have enabled Kither Biotech to raise an initial Series A financing round worth €5.6 million in financing to support its preclinical development.
Kither’s product portfolio also features KITCL27, a small molecule developed as a monotherapy for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a rare disease in which the lungs become scarred for unknown reasons. Currently, IPF has no cure, as well no procedures or medications to alleviate the scarring. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that IPF affects 30%–50% of hospital patients who have recovered from severe COVID-19. The company is soon to commence the preclinical phase of this molecule