Sienna Biopharmaceuticals

Market position

Sienna positioned itself as a dermatology-focused developer of late-stage skin treatment technologies, describing the pruritus market as underserved because no topical treatments were then available. Coverage framed its strategy as building a portfolio through acquisition to reach scale, with a potential future buyout by a large pharmaceutical company, as had occurred with Kythera.

Sienna's stated differentiation rested on a management team drawn from Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, which Allergan acquired for $2.1 billion in 2015, and on expertise in the drug regulatory process. CEO Frederick Beddingfield III had previously worked on brands including Botox, Latisse, Juvederm and Kythera's Kybella. The company described its programs as innovative technologies at similar stages of development that target a specific problem area of the skin with limited side effects, and said it had reviewed more than 140 opportunities before selecting Creabilis.

Technology

Two technology streams: silver photoparticle technology (SNA-001) combined with laser energy, pursued for light hair removal and, earlier, for acne scars and light-pigmented hair removal; and topical pharmaceuticals acquired from Creabilis, including SNA-120, a late-stage topical cream for pruritus, and SNA-125, roughly two years behind it, together with a technology platform for developing new drugs.

Go-to-market

Sources do not describe a commercial sales organization; at the time of the 2017 Creabilis acquisition Sienna had no commercial product and was advancing candidates through clinical development and regulatory submission, including a 510(k) filing with the FDA for SNA-001 in September 2019.

Patients with dermatological conditions including pruritus, psoriasis, acne scars and unwanted light-pigmented hair, reached through dermatologists and other prescribers.

Geography

Headquartered in Westlake Village, California. Through the Creabilis acquisition, Sienna also gained a laboratory in Ivrea, Italy; Creabilis itself was U.K.-based.

History

Sienna launched in April 2016 with $46 million in Series A financing from five investment funds plus individual investors, following the 2015 sale of Westlake Village-based Kythera Biopharmaceuticals to Allergan plc for $2.1 billion. Its initial proposal was to develop laser-based treatments for acne scars and light-pigmented hair removal. In January 2017, months after the Series A, Sienna acquired U.K.-based Creabilis plc, adding the topical candidates SNA-120 and SNA-125, other prospects, a drug development technology platform and a laboratory in Ivrea, Italy. By 2019 the company traded on NASDAQ under the ticker SNNA and submitted a 510(k) application to the FDA in September 2019 for SNA-001 for light hair removal. In January 2020, Sebacia, Inc. announced it had acquired all assets related to SNA-001, including associated intellectual property owned or licensed by Sienna and the 510(k) application, a transaction that also resolved patent interference litigation between The General Hospital Corporation and Sienna.

Risks & controversies

Sienna was party to patent interference litigation with The General Hospital Corporation, the owner of certain patents licensed by Sebacia; Sebacia stated that its January 2020 acquisition of Sienna's silver photoparticle assets resolved those patent conflicts. The company's programs also faced typical clinical and regulatory timing risk, with the lead topical candidate SNA-120 projected in early 2017 to be roughly five years from market.