EpiVario gets Penn option on ACSS2 inhibitors for IBD

EpiVario has secured an exclusive option agreement with the University of Pennsylvania for a patent application covering ACSS2 inhibitors aimed at autoimmune disease and inflammatory bowel disease. The deal gives the preclinical biotech a path toward a license as it prepares to advance a lead candidate toward ulcerative colitis trials.

Why it matters: - The option gives EpiVario a potential route to license Penn intellectual property behind a first-in-class metabolic-epigenetic approach to inflammatory bowel disease. - Inflammatory bowel disease affects more than 7 million people worldwide and still leaves many patients without durable remission. - The company is targeting a mechanism that sits at the intersection of metabolism, microbiome-driven acetate, and gene regulation in intestinal tissue.

What happened: - EpiVario announced an exclusive option agreement with the University of Pennsylvania for a patent application covering ACSS2 inhibitors and their use in autoimmune and inflammatory bowel disease. - The patent filing was based on research from the lab of Shelley Berger, Ph.D., the Daniel S. Och University Professor in the Perelman School of Medicine and founding director of the Penn Epigenetics Institute. - Berger is also a co-founder of EpiVario. - Penn owns the underlying patent application.

The details: - ACSS2 converts acetate into acetyl-CoA, which is required for histone acetylation and other acyl modifications. - Under metabolic stress, ACSS2 moves into the nucleus and links local acetate availability to transcriptional programs that control cell state. - The gut lumen is one of the most acetate-rich environments in the body because of microbial fermentation. - That biology makes ACSS2 a target connected to microbiome activity, metabolism, and gene regulation in the gut. - EpiVario said the agreement gives it an exclusive option to negotiate a license to the Penn-owned intellectual property. - Financial terms were not disclosed. - EpiVario plans over the next several months to nominate one of its proprietary ACSS2 inhibitors as a lead candidate. - The company also plans IND-enabling studies in preclinical colitis models. - EpiVario aims to enter first-in-human trials for ulcerative colitis. - Thomas Kim, EpiVario's CEO, said the company views ACSS2 as a differentiated way to address inflammatory bowel disease. - Berger said ACSS2 is driving inflammatory gene expression in her lab's research and that inhibitors of ACSS2 could help treat IBD. - Berger said the approach differs from current IBD drugs that target single inflammatory mechanisms.

Between the lines: - The deal extends Penn's scientific work into a commercial path, while also deepening the university's financial and equity ties to EpiVario. - Penn holds equity in EpiVario, has received sponsored research funding from the company, has previously licensed intellectual property to EpiVario, and may receive future payments tied to development and commercialization. - Berger is a scientific founder of EpiVario and holds equity in the company. - The company is still preclinical, so the program remains years away from any approved therapy and faces typical development risk.

What's next: - EpiVario will decide whether to exercise the option and seek a full license. - The company will select a lead ACSS2 inhibitor and test it in preclinical colitis studies. - If those studies support the program, EpiVario plans to move toward first-in-human testing in ulcerative colitis. - Any clinical progress will depend on preclinical results, financing, and regulatory review.