RCS - PureTech Health PLC - PRTC Launches Celea to Advance Ph3-Ready IPF Drug

Puretech HealthAnnouncement

Tue 12:00

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RNS Number : 9090U  PureTech Health PLC  12 August 2025

12 August 2025

PureTech Health plc

 

PureTech Announces the Launch of Celea Therapeutics with a Mission to
Transform the Treatment of Respiratory Diseases

 

Former Teva North America CEO Sven Dethlefs, PhD, to lead Celea

 

PureTech Health plc (https://puretechhealth.com/) (Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC)
("PureTech" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company
dedicated to changing the lives of patients with devastating diseases, today
announced the launch of a new Founded Entity Celea Therapeutics ("Celea").

 

Celea's mission is to deliver therapies that transform the lives of people
with serious respiratory diseases. Its lead program, deupirfenidone (LYT-100),
is a Phase 3-ready therapeutic candidate that holds promise across multiple
fibrotic and inflammatory lung conditions and is initially being advanced for
the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a rare, progressive, and
fatal lung disease. Sven Dethlefs, PhD, has been appointed to lead Celea,
bringing deep expertise and a clear vision to accelerate the program's
advancement. The launch of Celea reflects PureTech's commitment to advancing
differentiated programs through focused, capital-efficient structures with
seasoned leadership.

 

Dr. Dethlefs is a proven pharmaceutical executive with more than 25 years of
experience in global commercialization, R&D strategy, business
development, and operations. He has played a central role at PureTech, driving
forward the deupirfenidone program for more than a year. Prior to joining
PureTech, Dr. Dethlefs served as CEO of Teva North America, where he oversaw
the company's $8 billion specialty branded and generic businesses across the
U.S. and Canada. At Teva, he also held senior leadership roles as Global Head
of Marketing and Portfolio, Head of Respiratory Medicines, and COO Operations.
He played a key role in the successful launch of AUSTEDO®, Teva's blockbuster
treatment for Tardive Dyskinesia and Huntington's Disease, which is a
deuterated form of tetrabenazine. Prior to joining Teva, Dr. Dethlefs was a
partner at McKinsey & Company. He holds a PhD in Biochemistry.

 

Dr. Sven Dethlefs commented: "Bringing meaningful innovation to patients with
serious diseases has been a consistent theme throughout my career, and I
believe deupirfenidone has the potential to be a true turning point in the
treatment of IPF. Our Phase 2b data demonstrated the potential for
best-in-class efficacy with a favorable safety and tolerability
profile-addressing two of the most critical limitations of current therapies.
The strength of the clinical data, combined with the team and mission behind
Celea, make this a uniquely compelling opportunity. I'm excited to lead the
next phase of development as we work to deliver a new standard of care for
people living with IPF and other debilitating lung conditions."

 

PureTech completed a successful Phase 2b trial of deupirfenidone in December
2024
(https://news.puretechhealth.com/news-releases/news-release-details/puretechs-deupirfenidone-lyt-100-slowed-lung-function-decline)
. A meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to discuss these
results and the proposed Phase 3 trial design is expected by the end of the
third quarter of 2025. Consistent with its capital-efficient innovation model,
PureTech is pursuing third-party funding for Celea to advance the program
through Phase 3 and potential commercialization.

 

Robert Lyne, PureTech's Interim Chief Executive Officer, added: "The launch of
Celea is an important value driver for PureTech. Sven brings deep experience
in respiratory medicine and a strong track record of commercial success,
including having played a critical role in the growth of AUSTEDO®, a
deuterated medicine developed using the same underlying chemistry approach as
deupirfenidone. He is uniquely suited to lead Celea and advance this important
program."

 

About Deupirfenidone (LYT-100)

Deupirfenidone (LYT-100) is in development as a potential new standard of care
for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). It is a deuterated
form of pirfenidone, which - along with nintedanib - is one of the two
FDA-approved treatments for IPF.  Both approved therapies offer only modest
efficacy in slowing lung function decline, largely due to tolerability
challenges that limit the ability to achieve higher doses that could
significantly improve patient outcomes. These limitations have contributed to
low treatment uptake and poor adherence, with approximately 25% of people with
IPF in the U.S. ever receiving either drug. Despite this, combined peak global
sales exceed $5 billion, representing a significant market opportunity in IPF
and other fibrotic lung diseases.  1  (#_ftn1)

 

Deupirfenidone may overcome these limitations. In the global Phase 2b ELEVATE
IPF trial, deupirfenidone demonstrated the potential to stabilize lung
function decline over at least 26 weeks as a monotherapy while maintaining a
favorable safety and tolerability profile. Initial data from an ongoing
open-label extension study suggest that this effect may be sustained through
at least 52 weeks. These findings support the potential for deupirfenidone to
offer a meaningful advance for people living with this progressive and deadly
disease. Beyond IPF, deupirfenidone may also address multiple underserved
fibrotic conditions, including progressive fibrosing interstitial lung
diseases.

 

About Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare, progressive, and fatal lung
disease characterized by irreversible scarring of lung tissue that leads to a
steady decline in lung function. Median survival following diagnosis is
estimated to be two to five years, and currently there is no cure. 2  (#_ftn2)

 

About Celea Therapeutics

Celea Therapeutics is dedicated to delivering transformative treatments for
people with serious respiratory diseases. The company's lead program,
deupirfenidone (LYT-100), is a Phase 3-ready therapeutic candidate with the
potential to set a new standard of care for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
(IPF) and other fibrotic lung diseases.

 

Celea was founded by PureTech Health plc (Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC), a
biotherapeutics company dedicated to giving life to science. PureTech's
innovative R&D model drives the creation of Founded Entities like Celea,
enabling the advancement of highly promising medicines to patients in a
capital-efficient manner. For more information, please visit www.celeatx.com
and www.puretechhealth.com.

 

About PureTech Health

PureTech is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company dedicated to giving life
to new classes of medicine to change the lives of patients with devastating
diseases. The Company has created a broad and deep portfolio through its
experienced research and development team and its extensive network of
scientists, clinicians, and industry leaders that is being advanced both
internally and through its Founded Entities. PureTech's R&D engine has
resulted in the development of 29 therapeutics and therapeutic candidates,
including three that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration. A number of these programs are being advanced by PureTech or
its Founded Entities in various indications and stages of clinical
development, including registration-enabling studies. All of the underlying
programs and platforms that resulted in this portfolio of therapeutic
candidates were initially identified or discovered and then advanced by
the PureTech team through key validation points.

 

For more information, visit www.puretechhealth.com
(http://www.puretechhealth.com/)  or connect with us on X (formerly Twitter)
@puretechh.

 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that are or may be forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to
matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements,
including without limitation statements that relate to continued development
of and regulatory interactions related to deupirfenidone, the potential of
deupirfenidone in IPF and other indications, our expectations around our
therapeutic candidates and approach towards addressing major diseases, our
plans to advance our programs and deliver on our milestones, our future plans,
prospects, developments, and strategies. The forward-looking statements are
based on current expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results,
performance and achievements to differ materially from current expectations,
including, but not limited to, those risks, uncertainties and other important
factors described under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on
Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC and in
our other regulatory filings. These forward-looking statements are based on
assumptions regarding the present and future business strategies of the
Company and the environment in which it will operate in the future. Each
forward-looking statement speaks only as at the date of this press release.
Except as required by law and regulatory requirements, we disclaim any
obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

Contact:

PureTech

Public Relations

publicrelations@puretechhealth.com (mailto:publicrelations@puretechhealth.com)

Investor Relations

IR@puretechhealth.com (mailto:IR@puretechhealth.com)

 

UK/EU Media

Ben Atwell, Rob Winder

+44 (0) 20 3727 1000

puretech@fticonsulting.com (mailto:puretech@fticonsulting.com)

 

US Media

Justin Chen

+1 609 578 7230

justin@tenbridgecommunications.com (mailto:justin@tenbridgecommunications.com)

 

 

 1  (#_ftnref1) Esbriet peak sales (2020) per Roche 2021 Financial Results
& Ofev peak sales (2024) per Boehringer Ingelheim 2024 Financial Results.
Ofev sales include those for all approved indications - IPF, PF-ILD, and
systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD).

 2  (#_ftnref2) Fisher, M., Nathan, S. D., Hill, C., Marshall, J.,
Dejonckheere, F., Thuresson, P., & Maher, T. M. (2017). Predicting life
expectancy for pirfenidone in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Journal of
Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 23(3-b Suppl), S17-S24.
https://doi.org/10.18553/jmcp.2017.23.3-b.s17
(https://doi.org/10.18553/jmcp.2017.23.3-b.s17)

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