DermBiont Announces Acquisition of SeylanMED to Expand its Portfolio of Targeted Topical Therapeutics Treating Skin Diseases at Their Root Cause

BOSTON, MA, October 21, 2020 – DermBiont, Inc., a clinical stage precision dermatology company targeting skin diseases at their root cause has expanded its pipeline and therapeutic modalities with the acquisition of SeylanMED, Inc.

“This strategic acquisition delivers multi-factorial value,” said Karl Beutner, MD, PhD, Co-founder, CEO, and CMO of DermBiont.  “It expands our therapeutic pipeline with a first-in-class, targeted topical small molecule as well as our mission to address skin diseases at their root cause.”

SeylanMED’s lead drug candidate, a topical AKT inhibitor gel, has the potential to be the first patient-applied treatment for seborrheic keratosis.  Seborrheic keratosis (SKs) are benign clonal tumors with activating mutations in the RTK-P13K, Akt, mTOR signaling pathway.  SKs affect over 80 million people in the US alone and are frequently seen in middle-aged and older adults. These benign tumors vary in color and can be up to an inch or more wide. They typically have a slightly elevated, waxy, or scaly appearance and can appear in both sun-exposed and sun-protected areas on the body.

The current standard of care is ablation with curettage, an effective treatment, but with several side effects including scarring, changes in pigmentation, pain, bleeding, and risk of wound infection; alternative treatments include electrosurgery or cryosurgery, which are not as effective as curettage. These procedures are costly, must be performed by a provider at a clinic, and are not often covered by insurance.

“The combination of SeylanMED with DermBiont is a welcomed combination of strengths,” said Mark de Souza, PhD, CEO of SeylanMED.  “This merger places a valuable and de-risked topical small molecule drug candidate in the hands of an experienced development team with a track record of advancing over a dozen programs through FDA approval.”

In addition to SeylanMED’s topical AKT inhibitor gel for the treatment of SKs, DermBiont plans to initiate least four other phase 2b clinical trials in 2021 with live bacterial therapeutics discovered internally from its microbiome platform technology.

“We are rapidly advancing proprietary, first-in-class, targeted topical drug candidates through clinical trials while building the next generation dermatology company,” said Nichola Eliovits, DermBiont’s Co-founder and Chief Business Officer. Adding, “Dermatology is an industry ripe for innovation across the value chain. DermBiont intends to change this paradigm across all major skin diseases with unmet patient needs, beginning with those in our pipeline.”