GlaxoSmithKline has struck a deal to buy Sitari Pharmaceuticals, the first company created through its collaboration with Avalon Ventures.
Sitari, a preclinical-stage biotech, is developing inhibitors of the TG2 enzyme as treatments for the autoimmune digestive disorder celiac disease.
GSK and Avalon came together to found Sitari in 2013. Sitari raised a $10 million series A round in the same year and then worked within Avalon’s COI Pharmaceuticals incubator to develop intellectual property in-licensed from Stanford University’s Chaitan Kholsa. Having established a preclinical program, Sitari has now generated enough evidence to persuade GSK to acquire its operations.
