BiPar Sciences

BiPar Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that develops tumor-selective therapies for cancer patients, working in the field of DNA repair through inhibition of PARP (poly ADP-ribose polymerase), an enzyme involved in cell repair that is upregulated in certain tumors. Its lead candidate, BSI-201 (iniparib), was studied in metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), ovarian cancer and other malignancies; at the time of the 2009 acquisition announcement it was in Phase 2 trials, and by December 2009 it was described as the furthest advanced of the emerging class of PARP-inhibitor compounds in Phase 3 development in metastatic TNBC. Later analysis of data generated by BiPar/Sanofi concluded that iniparib does not possess characteristics typical of the PARP inhibitor class; it was subsequently characterized as a novel investigational anti-cancer agent that induces gamma-H2AX in tumor cell lines, induces G2/M cell cycle arrest and potentiates the cell cycle effects of DNA-damaging modalities.

Beyond BSI-201, the company had two additional compounds in preclinical development: BSI-401, a follow-on PARP inhibitor candidate investigated as an oral therapy for pancreatic cancer, and BSI-302, an anti-tubulin agent targeting cancer cells based on the role of thyroid hormones in cell proliferation and death. The company was founded in 2002 and headquartered in Brisbane, California, later described as located in South San Francisco, California.

Founding story

The company was co-founded by Thomas F. White, who served as its president and chief executive officer through at least early 2007 and later co-founded TriAct Therapeutics with a group from UCSF.

Traction

BSI-201 progressed from early-stage clinical testing in 2007 to Phase 2 trials in TNBC, ovarian cancer and other malignancies by 2009, and to Phase 3 development in metastatic TNBC by December 2009. In December 2008 at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the company presented positive interim safety data from an ongoing Phase 2 trial of BSI-201 in combination with chemotherapy in metastatic TNBC, together with gene expression data confirming significant upregulation of PARP in tumors of the first 50 patients enrolled. A registered Phase 2 randomized trial of gemcitabine/carboplatin with or without BSI-201 in ER-, PR- and HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (NCT00540358) began in October 2007 and was completed.

Latest developments

Following the Sanofi-aventis acquisition, BiPar continued as an independent, wholly-owned subsidiary with a new chief executive officer, Atul Dhir, appointed effective December 1, 2009, and a mandate to advance the BSI-201 clinical program and preserve the company's autonomous operating model within the parent group.