Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:TTNP) has announced a strategic restructuring that will see its focus on product development of ProNeur®. This is in a bid to reposition the company for future growth.
Titan to wind down commercialization activities for Probuphine in the US
The company is planning to discontinue Probuphine® implant sales in the US and wind-down commercial activities. Probuphine® (buprenorphine) is the company’s first product based o its ProNeura technology with approval for maintenance treatment in opioid use disorder in the US and EU. The implant is used in clinically stable patients that are receiving less than 8mg per day of oral buprenorphine.
Commercialization of Probuphne under the current product label requirements and Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy has become burdensome for the company. Other impediments for effective commercialization include financial constraints that have limited the marketing and sales capabilities, complexity of distribution channel, and suboptimal reimbursement rates. The pandemic has exacerbated the issues.
Titan to focus on ProNeura-based product development
The wind-down of Probuphine commercialization activities will enable Titan to refocus resources on ProNeura-based product development, more so Kappa opioid receptor agonist and nalmefene. Recently Titan signed a non-bonding term sheet with JT Pharma to acquire and developed JT-09 for utilization combined with its PorNeura tech. According to James McNab, a board member of Titan and JT Pharma principle, the companies started collaborating years ago on limited lab work to evaluate the feasibility of delivering JT-09 via ProNeura implants in animal studies. The initial work focused on the ability of JT-09 activating peripheral kappa opioid receptors.
The company recently started evaluating the feasibility of employing JT-09 ProNeura implants in treating pruritus. James said that based on preliminary animal data, the subcutaneous JT-o9 ProNeura implants administration could offer therapeutic concentrations for about a year.
Titan is also focusing on developing nalmefene implants after receiving an $8.7 million grant from the National Institute for Drug Addiction. Nalmefene is being developed to prevent opioid relapse after detoxification.
