Healthcare firm Roivant Sciences has formed a new subsidiary known as ‘Urovant Sciences’ to develop new therapies for addressing urologic conditions.

Urovant has licensed global rights, except in certain Asian countries such as Japan, to develop and commercialise a therapeutic candidate called vibegron from Merck Sharp & Dohme.

Vibegron is an oral β3-adrenergic agonist currently being developed to treat patients with an overactive bladder that is characterised by symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency and urinary frequency.

The β3-adrenergic receptor is said to play a role in the bladder fill-void cycle, and by inducing the pathway, vibegron is expected to relax the bladder detrusor muscle and allow efficient storage of urine.

Roivant Sciences founder and CEO Vivek Ramaswamy said: “Urologic conditions such as overactive bladder adversely impact millions of individuals, and the current treatment options are unsatisfactory for many patients.

“Our aim is to provide patients with better options as quickly as possible.”

“Our aim is to provide patients with better options as quickly as possible.”

The product is undergoing evaluation for safety and efficacy in more than 2,700 patients with symptoms of overactive bladder.

Vibegron was reported to have met the primary and key secondary endpoints in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled and active comparator-controlled Phase IIb clinical trial conducted in more than 1,300 subjects.

A randomised, placebo and active comparator-controlled Phase III trial of more than 1,000 patients also met its required endpoints.

In the coming months, Urovant intends to initiate a multinational Phase III registration programme for vibegron.