What Parion Sciences does

Parion Sciences is a development-stage, privately held biopharmaceutical company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, focused on restoring innate mucosal surface defense in pulmonary and ocular diseases. The company develops a portfolio of novel epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) inhibitors — lead asset P-1037/Idrevloride for cystic fibrosis and primary ciliary dyskinesia, P-1055 for pulmonary indications, and P-321 for dry eye disease — together with the proprietary tPAD transnasal pulmonary aerosol delivery platform and a separate mucolytic agents program. All pipeline assets are investigational; no products are approved or commercially marketed.

The scientific foundation is ENaC inhibitor technology originally licensed from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, supported by 30+ issued patents and an extensive publication record associated with co-founder Dr. Richard C. Boucher. Parion operates with 11–50 employees and has secured multiple FDA and EMA regulatory designations for P-1037, including FDA Orphan Drug, Fast Track, and Rare Pediatric Disease Designations (July 2020) and EMA Orphan Drug Designation (November 2020). The company is led by President & CEO Paul Boucher and a management team with senior R&D and CMC backgrounds from GSK and Grifols.

Parion's business model is licensing- and partnership-driven rather than commercial: it generates revenue through upfront payments, development and regulatory milestones, and royalties from larger pharmaceutical partners — exemplified by the $80 million upfront from Vertex Pharmaceuticals in 2015 for ENaC inhibitors and the 2017 P-321 license to Shire (later Takeda). The company has also drawn on non-dilutive funding, including NIH SBIR grants, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics awards ($3 million for P-1037 Phase 2), and NIH CADET program funding. Both major licensing relationships (Vertex and Shire/Takeda) were subsequently terminated, and Parion reacquired worldwide rights to both programs, placing the company back in self-development mode with its lead PCD program now positioned for late-stage clinical advancement.

Name

Parion Sciences

Legal name

Parion Sciences, Inc.

Website

https://parion.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Parion Sciences is a development-stage, privately held biopharmaceutical company developing novel epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) inhibitors and the tPAD aerosol delivery platform to treat cystic fibrosis, primary ciliary dyskinesia, and dry eye disease, sourcing revenue through licensing partnerships and non-dilutive grants rather than direct product sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Respiratory Biopharmaceuticals

NAICS

Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (3254), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Drug Discovery (Target ID/Validation & Hit Discovery) (HLAIALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Small-Molecule CMC Documentation & Regulatory Support (DMF/CMC) (HLAGAHAM)

Keywords

• Epithelial sodium channel inhibitors
• Pulmonary disease therapeutics
• Cystic fibrosis drug development
• Biopharmaceutical pipeline licensing
• Mucosal defense therapies

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Licensing and Milestone Payments: Parion Sciences generates revenue through licensing agreements where partners pay upfront fees, development and regulatory milestones, and royalties on commercial sales. Examples include the $80M upfront payment from Vertex (2015) and undisclosed option/exercise payments from Santen and Shire/Takeda.
2. Grant Funding: Non-dilutive funding from government agencies and foundations including NIH SBIR grants, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics awards, and NIH CADET grants ($15.6M over 5 years).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Parion Sciences is a development-stage biopharmaceutical company that researches, develops, and seeks to commercialize therapies restoring the innate mucosal surface defense of the lung and eye. Its core offerings are clinical-stage drug candidates built around proprietary epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) inhibitor technology licensed from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, including P-1037 for cystic fibrosis and primary ciliary dyskinesia, P-321 for dry eye disease, and accompanying drug delivery and mucolytic platforms. Parion monetizes these assets primarily through licensing and partnership agreements with larger pharmaceutical companies.

Product overview

Parion Sciences is a development-stage biopharmaceutical company with a pipeline of drug candidates and delivery technologies focused on restoring mucosal surface defense in pulmonary and ocular diseases. The core products include ENaC inhibitors P-1037 (also known as VX-371) for pulmonary diseases like Cystic Fibrosis and Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia, and P-321 for dry eye disease. The company also developed the tPAD (Trans nasal Pulmonary Aerosol Delivery) platform technology for overnight drug delivery. Additional pipeline candidates include mucolytic agents and P-1055. The company leverages ENaC inhibition technology originally developed at UNC-Chapel Hill and has partnered with Vertex, Santen/Shire, and others for development and commercialization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• P-1037 (ENaC Pulmonary / Idrevloride / VX-371) Novel epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) inhibitor for pulmonary diseases including cystic fibrosis (CF) and primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). The compound blocks sodium absorption to maintain mucus hydration and improve airway clearance. The compound has been the subject of Phase 2 trials (CLEAN-CF, CLEAN-PCD) and has received FDA Orphan Drug, Fast Track, and Rare Pediatric Disease designations plus EMA Orphan Drug Designation for PCD.
• P-321 (Dry Eye Disease) Topical ophthalmic ENaC inhibitor designed to restore tear film volume on the ocular surface for the treatment of dry eye disease (DED). The candidate has been out-licensed to Shire (later Takeda) for worldwide development, with Parion retaining rights after the license was terminated in October 2019.
• tPAD (Transnasal Pulmonary Aerosol Delivery) Proprietary aerosol delivery platform technology designed to administer aerosolized medications transnasally through a hands-free nasal cannula overnight during sleep. Optimized to bypass nasal passages and deposit medication in the lungs under natural breathing patterns, minimizing daytime treatment burden for chronic respiratory conditions such as cystic fibrosis. Developed in collaboration with Cambridge Consultants.
• Mucolytic Agents Novel mucolytic agents designed to specifically target mucus structure and facilitate mucus clearance from the lungs. Indicated for cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), non-CF bronchiectasis, and respiratory viral infections. Positioned as broadly effective and well-tolerated versus existing mucolytic therapies.
• P-1055 ENaC inhibitor developed for pulmonary diseases and advanced as part of Parion's collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals covering P-1037 and P-1055. Pulmonary rights to the program were reacquired by Parion in January 2020 after the collaboration was terminated.

Quantifiable outcome

• Phase 2 CLEAN-PCD study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine showed idrevloride in hypertonic saline was safe and associated with significant improvement in lung function over 28 days in people with PCD compared with hypertonic saline alone

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Shire (now Takeda)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2017License agreement granting Shire exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize P-321 for dry eye disease. Shire led development with opportunity for Parion to co-fund. Agreement was terminated in October 2019, with Parion regaining exclusive worldwide rights to P-321.
• Ceva and Zoion PharmasecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 January 2016Collaboration to develop ENaC inhibitor (ZP-1/P-1046) to treat veterinary ocular surface diseases including keratoconjunctivitis sicca (dry eye) in animals. Ceva gained worldwide development and commercial rights to ZP-1 which completed proof-of-concept clinical trial in canine KCS. Compound was originally discovered by Parion Sciences.
• Vertex PharmaceuticalscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2015Collaboration to develop ENaC inhibitors for cystic fibrosis and other pulmonary diseases. Vertex received worldwide development and commercial rights to Parion's ENaC inhibitors including P-1037 and P-1055. Parion received $80 million up-front payment with potential for additional development, regulatory milestones, and tiered royalties. The collaboration was terminated in January 2020, with Parion reacquiring pulmonary rights.
• Santen PharmaceuticalsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 2014Exclusive option agreement for development and commercialization of P-321 for dry eye disease in certain Asian territories. Santen made an undisclosed option payment with rights to exercise option for responsibility of all clinical, regulatory, and commercial activity in agreed Asian territories. Parion retains rights in North America, Europe, and rest of world.
• University of North Carolina, Chapel HillcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLicensor of proprietary ENaC inhibitor technology. Parion was founded based on technology from UNC-CH. Ongoing research collaboration through NIH CADET grants with UNC-CH for mucolytic research program ($7.7M of $15.6M total awarded to UNC-CH).
• Cambridge ConsultantssecondaryTechnology or IntegrationProduct development partnership for tPAD (Transnasal Pulmonary Aerosol Delivery) platform. Cambridge Consultants worked with Parion to develop the aerosol delivery system that enables CF patients to receive saltwater treatment overnight while sleeping.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Spyryx Biosciences: Developed inhaled ENaC peptide inhibitors (SPX-101) for cystic fibrosis, directly competing with Parion's P-1037 on the same target pathway and indication. Most directly comparable peer by mechanism and therapeutic focus.
• Translate Bio: Developed inhaled mRNA therapies for cystic fibrosis, sharing Parion's inhaled-pulmonary CF approach but with a different mechanism. Comparable as a clinical-stage pulmonary rare-disease developer.
• Insmed: Inhaled antibiotic (brensocatib) developer for non-CF bronchiectasis and other pulmonary rare diseases. Comparable as a clinical-to-commercial-stage pulmonary biopharma addressing mucus-related lung disease.
• Verona Pharma: Late-stage respiratory biopharma developing ensifentrine for COPD and other mucus-driven lung diseases. Comparable as an inhaled, small-molecule pulmonology company in late-stage development.
• Aldeyra Therapeutics: Clinical-stage developer focused on dry eye disease and ocular surface inflammation, comparable to Parion's P-321 ophthalmology program in indication, stage, and licensing-driven business model.
• Kala Bio: Develops novel therapies for ocular surface diseases including dry eye, sharing Parion's ophthalmology indication focus. Comparable as a small clinical-stage ocular biotech.
• Novaliq: Develops water-free ocular therapies for dry eye disease and other ocular surface conditions. Comparable in the dry-eye therapeutic area and in the small-molecule ophthalmic approach.

Broad incumbents

• Vertex Pharmaceuticals: Dominant CF franchise (Trikafta) and former Parion partner for ENaC inhibitors. Comparable as a CF-focused biopharma but operates at vastly greater scale across multiple disease areas.

Emerging players

• Arcturus Therapeutics: Clinical-stage developer of RNA therapeutics including for cystic fibrosis, sharing Parion's CF therapeutic focus with a different modality. Comparable as a smaller rare-pulmonary-disease clinical player.
• ProQR Therapeutics: Clinical-stage developer of RNA-editing therapies for CF and other rare diseases. Comparable in rare-disease focus and clinical-stage profile though employing a different therapeutic modality.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Parion Sciences