Hoth Therapeutics Signs Term Sheet with Zylö Therapeutics to Acquire a License and Jointly Develop a Product to Treat Lupus

On May 15, 2019

Hoth Therapeutics, announced that the company has signed a term sheet with Zylö Therapeutics Inc (Zylö) to co-develop a new treatment for patients suffering from Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus (CLE). CLE is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the skin.

Zylö, dedicated to bringing innovative technologies to multiple facets of medicine, has an innovative sustained-release drug-delivery system that was developed by Joel Friedman MD PhD, Adam Friedman MD FAAD, and Andrew Draganski PhD. The delivery system uses patented xerogel-derived nanoparticles, called Z-pods™, to deliver—in a sustained and controlled manner—notoriously hard-to-deliver therapeutic agents through topical administration.

Scientists at Einstein College of Medicine recently demonstrated that topical administration with AEA-loaded nanoparticles significantly prevents the development of CLE in an established animal model of lupus. This work reinforces and highlights the utility of targeting the endocannabinoid system for autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

The work at Einstein supports the thesis that AEA loaded into Z-pods™ improves drug skin penetration, reduces the expected inflammatory cytokine secretion by keratinocytes when exposed to ultraviolet radiation, prevents the development of CLE skin lesions, improves skin histopathology, prevents inflammation and structural damage on histology and reduces macrophages and C3 accumulation.

According to estimates by the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA), 1.5 Million Americans currently suffer from lupus, with 16,000 new cases reported annually. Tragically, lupus strikes mostly women of child-bearing age. Worldwide, the LFA estimates that at least five million people may have some form of the disease. Of the people diagnosed, approximately two-thirds will develop CLE. The annual average cost to provide medical treatment for a person with lupus: $6,000 to $10,000, with some treatment costing several thousand dollars a month.

“Management is extremely pleased to partner with Zylö Therapeutics, enhancing our portfolio of unique treatments for patients suffering from various dermatological related ailments,” stated, Mr. Robb Knie, CEO of Hoth Therapeutics. “Zylö’s initial work shows significant promise in combating Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus, and we look forward to working with them in order to bring this treatment to market.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Hoth, a company that is committed to innovative solutions and partnerships to develop treatments for diseases with a high unmet clinical need, such as lupus,” said Scott Pancoast, CEO of Zylö. “As we work with the Hoth team to advance AEA-loaded Z-pods through the next stages of development, we expect to further demonstrate the important role that our patented Z-pod delivery system plays in improving treatment outcomes.”

The term sheet is non-binding and neither party thereto shall have any obligation to consummate a transaction of any kind until such time as the parties have entered into a mutually agreeable definitive agreement. There can be no assurance that any such definitive agreement will be entered into or that the transaction will be completed on the terms set forth in the term sheet, or at all.