There is usually not much debate about the exact date of a child’s birthday; however, when it comes to the birthday of a company like Idorsia, one could argue:
“Having invested so much effort in building a research engine and a diversified pipeline at Actelion, I am delighted that we can continue to work on these important projects at Idorsia, to realize their potential and advance many fields of medicine.”
- Jean-Paul Clozel, Chairman
What is a birthday?
Whatever your opinion may be about the company’s actual birthday, there is something we at Idorsia can all agree on: this “baby” was born thanks to the energy and can-do mindset of everyone involved. In building the new company and separating its day-to-day activities from those of its next-door neighbor Actelion, it soon became clear that determination would be required to make Idorsia a reality.
“Idorsia got off to a very positive start with impressive clinical results and productive discussions with health authorities. We made great progress to establish the company while advancing our pipeline without any loss of momentum.”
- Jean-Paul Clozel, Chairman
The challenges were manifold and by no means only of a scientific nature. For example, 40,000 contracts had to be transferred. Who was to pay the electricity and water bills for which buildings? Were there separate meters? What about access to intellectual property, scientific databases, IT infrastructure, and – last but certainly not least – the canteen?
Resolving issues like these in a short timeframe required not only an atmosphere of mutual trust, but also pragmatism and a sense of priorities. A little over a year after the proposed creation of Idorsia was first announced, it can rightly be said that all parties played their full part in the months that followed, and that their constructive approach has been rewarded: Idorsia was fully functional from the demerger from Actelion, and any remaining separation activities were well planned, making this innovative transaction a great success.
“ Idorsia is able to fully leverage the excellent R&D pipeline that was created at Actelion. The Board has great confidence in the team and I am convinced that their tremendous track record is going to continue to translate into value creation for all.”
- Jean-Pierre Garnier, former Chairman
As investment will be essential in the coming years, we are fortunate to be starting out with 1 billion in cash, and our business development activities have led to additional cash injections. However, until we are generating our own revenue and are truly sustainable, we must be highly cost conscious. This message is constantly repeated at all levels of Idorsia, and our teams are well aware that they are expected to achieve ambitious targets, to work in an ethical manner, and to keep a keen eye on the bottom line.
We have a great team of brilliant scientists and while Idorsia is new, we have been a team for a long time. We have a common approach: novel projects that will answer medical problems in a truly groundbreaking
way, balanced with less risky projects where we have a deep understanding of the disease mechanisms. Our people have the entrepreneurial spirit in their DNA and they are open to smart risk-taking.
With the rich collection of compounds
brought over from Actelion, the Idorsia
teams are now working hard to advance the company’s highly innovative pipeline and further enhance the value proposition
from these assets. Discussions with health authorities are progressing well, so that key compounds are expected to move into latestage development in the coming year.
For Idorsia, the process which begins with drug discovery and preclinical development ends, we hope, with a novel molecule that will help patients in diseases which still have a high medical need.
The purpose of Idorsia is to discover, develop and bring more, innovative medicines to patients.
We have more ideas, we see more opportunities and we want to help more patients.
