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Pharvaris
Pharvaris is a public biopharma founded by the team that sold Jerini to Shire, developing an oral small molecule for HAE in Phase 3 trials.
Pharvaris
Pharvaris was founded in 2015 by Berndt Modig and Jochen Knolle, the former leaders of Jerini, which Shire acquired in 2008 for its injectable HAE therapy Firazyr. The firm is structured as a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, not a private family office or investment vehicle. Its operational headquarters are in Leiden, Netherlands, with a corporate office in Zug, Switzerland. The founding thesis was straightforward: the next frontier for HAE treatment was an oral therapy, and both founders had the rare-disease development expertise to execute on it. The company's lead asset is deucrictibant, an oral bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist in late-stage development for on-demand and prophylactic treatment of HAE attacks. The pipeline is single-asset, with Phase 3 trials underway for both indications. The competitive landscape includes Takeda's injectable Takhzyro, which generated over $1.6 billion in 2023, and BioCryst's oral Orladeyo, which reached $325 million in its first full year. Pharvaris is positioned against both: an oral therapy for acute attacks where Orladeyo is prophylactic only. The company reported cash and equivalents of approximately $330 million as of March 2024, with a runway extending into 2026 (per the firm, May 2024). Pharvaris trades on Nasdaq under the ticker PHVS. It completed a $186 million initial public offering in February 2021 and a $269 million follow-on in October 2021, both led by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Institutional holders include Avoro Capital Advisors and Deep Track Capital. The board includes Kurt von Emster, a partner at Abingworth, and Robert Glassman, former co-head of healthcare banking at Goldman Sachs. May 2024: Announced alignment with the FDA on remaining Phase 3 requirements for deucrictibant prophylaxis, with a planned study initiation in the second half of 2024 (per the firm, May 2024). The structural differentiator is not a family office model — Pharvaris is a public biotech — but a clinical strategy built on a single asset targeting both the acute and prophylactic HAE markets with one oral molecule. No other company has an oral therapy in late-stage trials for acute attacks. The firm's genetic separation from the Takeda franchise and its rare-disease operating experience distinguish it from generalist biotechs entering the HAE space.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2015
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Netherlands
City
Leiden
Corporate office
Leiden, Netherlands
Additional offices
Zug, Switzerland
Principals
Berndt Modig
Chief Executive Officer
Jochen Knolle
Chief Scientific Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs the company's development strategy?
CEO Berndt Modig and CSO Jochen Knolle lead the development strategy. They previously ran Jerini, which developed the injectable HAE drug Firazyr and was sold to Shire in 2008. Their rare-disease regulatory and clinical experience is the core of the Pharvaris thesis.
Is Pharvaris a family office or investment firm?
No. Pharvaris is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company on Nasdaq. It is not a family office, fund, or investment vehicle.
How is Pharvaris funded?
The company is funded by public equity raises and institutional investors. It completed a $186 million IPO in February 2021 and a $269 million follow-on in October 2021. As of March 2024, it reported $330 million in cash, providing runway into 2026.
What is deucrictibant and who competes with it?
Deucrictibant is an oral bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist targeting both on-demand and prophylactic HAE treatment. Key competitors are Takeda's injectable Takhzyro and BioCryst's oral Orladeyo. Pharvaris is the only company with a late-stage oral candidate for acute attacks.
Where does the team's HAE expertise come from?
The core team developed Firazyr, an injectable HAE therapy, at Jerini before its 2008 sale to Shire. That acquisition validated the team's rare-disease drug-development skills and directly informed Pharvaris's oral approach.
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