Zogenic acquires rare-disease start-up

Abstract

Zogenix, an Emeryville, California–based rare-disease therapy specialist, will pay $250 million to acquire Modis Therapeutics, a start-up focused on rare genetic diseases. Modis’s lead candidate is MT1621, a deoxynucleoside substrate enhancement therapy in late-stage development for the treatment of thymidine kinase 2 deficiency, an often fatal mitochondrial DNA depletion disorder that primarily affects children. Modis was formed in 2016 and raised $30 million in series A funding less than a year ago.