Knopp Biosciences LLC (“Knopp”) is a Delaware limited liability company.  The owners of an LLC are referred to as Members (versus shareholders), and own units (versus shares).  Unlike a typical corporation, an LLC does not pay federal income taxes, but passes its income and losses through to its members.  Another difference is that its governing body is referred to as a Board of Managers (versus a Board of Directors).

Knopp Biosciences LLC
2403 Sidney Street, Suite 206
Pittsburgh, PA 15203

Knopp sold its Kv7 program to Biohaven in April 2022.  Biohaven (NYSE: BHVN) and its affiliates are advancing the clinical development of the Kv7 program in epilepsy and other neurological disorders.  Many former Knopp employees now work for Biohaven.  The first Kv7 drug compound, BHV-7000, is currently being tested in a Phase II/III clinical study for the treatment of focal epilepsy.   You can learn more about their progress at the Biohaven website:  www.biohaven.com

Knopp spun off its dexpramipexole program (“Dex”) to Areteia Therapeutics, Inc. in June 2022.  Areteia was co-founded by Knopp and Population Health Partners (“PHP”).  PHP is a consulting company specializing in the development of late-stage pharmaceutical products.  A private equity syndicate led by Bain Capital has committed $425 million in new capital for Areteia to complete three ongoing Phase III clinical trials for Dex for the treatment of eosinophilic asthma.  You can learn more about the status of the Dex clinical work at the Areteia website www.aretieatx.com.

In April 2022, Knopp received $35 million in cash and Biohaven stock worth $65 million based on the share price when the deal was signed in February 2022. The stock was subsequently sold at an aggregate price of nearly $75 million.  Knopp also received contract rights to future payments based on the achievement of regulatory and sales milestones related to the Kv7 program.   The first milestone payment of $25 million was received in August 2022. 

In May 2024, Knopp and Biohaven agreed to restructure their contract to include May 1, 2024 and May 1, 2025 payments of $75 million each in stock in exchange for a reduction in regulatory milestones and royalties and an elimination of the sales milestones.

In June 2022, Knopp spun off its intellectual property related to its dexpramipexole program (“Dex”) to a new company, Areteia Therapeutics, Inc.  Population Health Partners, a consultancy specializing in pharmaceutical development (“PHP”), partnered with Knopp to induce a consortium of institutional investors led by Bain Capital to commit $350 million to advance Dex in three planned Phase III clinical trials.  $175 million of the $350 million was invested at closing.   

In February 2024, Areteia and the Bain Capital investment syndicate increased their funding commitment to $425 million, of which $275 million has been invested to date.  When the full $425 million is invested, it is anticipated that Knopp will beneficially own approximately 30% of Areteia.

Knopp is no longer engaged in the development of new therapeutics but is instead a holding company managing a portfolio of equity securities and contract rights for future payments related to sale and spin-off transactions completed in 2022.

The Knopp Board of Managers is comprised of Mike Bozik, Greg Hebrank, Tom Petzinger, David Adair, Stephen Butts, Benjamin Gomez, and Jeffrey McCormick.  Biographic information regarding the Board of Managers can be found under the “About Knopp” tab of the investor portal.

Knopp currently has two executives, F. J. Lucchino, its President, and Charlie O’Hanlon, its Vice President Finance and Investor Relations.

Knopp has approximately 280 members, comprised of a mix of institutions, family offices, and individuals.

Knopp members can access current and historic financial statement through the www.knoppbio.com investor portal.  As of July 2022, the company will no longer mail interim financial statements to members.

Email:   contact@knoppbio.com
Phone: (412) 488-1776

Knopp Biosciences LLC
2403 Sidney Street, Suite 206
Pittsburgh, PA  15203

Knopp received $125 million from Biohaven for the Kv7 program in 2022.  An additional $75 million in Biohaven stock will be received in 2024, and an additional payment of $75 million in Biohaven stock will be paid to Knopp in 2025.   Future payments tied to the achievement of regulatory milestones and commercial sales of approved drug products are possible but not guaranteed.

Biohaven maintains a headquarters is in New Haven, Connecticut.  It operates a research facility at the former Knopp headquarters in Pittsburgh’s historic Southside neighborhood.

Biohaven’s CEO is Vlad Coric.  Dr. Coric has more than 15 years of drug discovery and clinical development experience at Yale School of Medicine and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Within the pharmaceutical industry, he has expertise working across therapeutic areas including neuroscience, virology, oncology and immuno-oncology.  Dr. Coric completed residency training at the Yale Psychiatry Residency Training Program, where he also served as the Program-Wide Chief Resident for the Yale Department of Psychiatry, and Chief Resident on the PTSD firm at the West-Haven Connecticut Veterans Administration Hospital. Dr. Coric earned his medical degree at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina.

Please go to https://www.biohaven.com/ to learn more about Biohaven.

Today, Knopp beneficially owns approximately 38% of Areteia.  The remainder is owned by a group of institutional investors led by Bain Capital as well as Population Health Partners, with which Knopp partnered to form Areteia.  Assuming Areteia’s clinical trial data is positive and the Bain Capital investors close on the third round of their $425 million commitment, Knopp will own approximately 30% of Areteia.

Jorge Bartolome is the CEO of Areteia Therapeutics, Inc.  Mr. Bartolome is a seasoned marketing executive in the pharmaceutical industry.  Prior to joining Areteia, Mr. Bartolome was employed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals Companies of Johnson and Johnson, most recently as the President of Janssen Canada.  Prior to joining Janssen in 2017, he spent 25 years at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in a variety of managerial roles in GSK’s respiratory medicine division.  Mr. Bartolome received his A.B. from Duke University in 1992. 

Areteia maintains its headquarters in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 

Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, with approximately $160 billion under management. Founded as a spin-off of Bain’s international consulting practice in 1984, it specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital operates out of 23 offices worldwide and employs more than 1,200 team members. www.baincapital.com

Population Health Partners LP (PHP) is an investment management company focused on innovative therapeutics a based in New York, New York.  Founded by Clive Meanwell, Ian Read, Chris Cox, and Whit Bernard, PHP specializes in corporate strategy and go-to-market planning for late stage pharmaceutical assets. www.populationhp.com

The institutional syndicate investing in Areteia includes Access Biotechnology, GV, ARCH Venture Partners, Saturn Partners, Sanofi, Maverick Capital, Viking Global Investors, Marshall Wace, and Population Health Partners. 

Areteia has launched a new website to report on activities at the company.  www.areteiatx.com

Knopp is a private company, and its units do not trade on any public market.  From time to time, Knopp engages a third party appraiser to estimate the fair value of units in each class.  The last valuation was done as of October 31, 2022.

The manner and order of cash distributions to Members is governed by the Knopp Operating Agreement.  The actual dollar amount and timing of all distributions must be authorized and approved the Knopp Board of Managers.   

Knopp’s Board of Managers approved the distribution of $101,000,834 to members in October 2022.  The distribution was made to members of record on October 4, 2022.

The Knopp Board of Managers is comprised of David Adair, Stephen Butts, Benjamin Gomez, F. J. Lucchino, Jeffrey McCormick, Charlie O’Hanlon, and Tom Petzinger.  Biographic information regarding the Board of Managers can be found under the “About Knopp” tab of the investor portal.