Hyperion Therapeutics

What Hyperion Therapeutics does

Hyperion Therapeutics was a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in South San Francisco, California, focused on developing and commercializing treatments for urea cycle disorders and other rare diseases. Founded in 2006, the company operated in the orphan drug segment, an area characterized by small patient populations, limited treatment alternatives, and regulatory incentives such as FDA orphan designation that support premium pricing and multi-year market exclusivity.

The company was publicly listed on NASDAQ under the ticker HPTX and ultimately reached the delisted status captured in the input, consistent with an exit via acquisition. Hyperion raised approximately $222 million across multiple venture rounds from 2007 to 2013, drawing capital from Bay City Capital, Sofinnova, Highland Capital Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Panorama Capital, Washington Research Foundation, Comerica, and EQT Life Sciences. In April 2014 it expanded its pipeline beyond urea cycle disorders via the acquisition of Andromeda Biotech Ltd. for approximately $570 million, signaling an offensive move into Type 1 diabetes and a broader rare-disease strategy.

Hyperion served patients with serious, ultra-rare metabolic and related disorders through specialty pharma channels, with a commercial and R&D organization of 501–1,000 employees. Its revenue mechanics reflected typical orphan-drug economics — high per-patient pricing, concentrated specialist prescribers, and reimbursement leverage from orphan exclusivity — though the input does not provide direct revenue disclosures, leaving financial scale to be inferred from funding and M&A benchmarks.

Name

Hyperion Therapeutics

Legal name

Amgen Inc.

Website

https://hyperiontx.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Hyperion Therapeutics was a South San Francisco-based biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for urea cycle disorders and other rare diseases. Founded in 2006 and formerly NASDAQ-listed (HPTX), it operated as a specialty orphan-disease pharma prior to delisting.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biopharmaceuticals - Rare Disease Therapeutics

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Enzyme Replacement & Metabolic Disorder Therapies (HLAIAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nephrology & Urology Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAH), Nephrology & Urology Pharmaceuticals (HLAIAAAM)

Keywords

• Rare disease therapeutics
• Urea cycle disorder treatments
• Biopharmaceutical products
• Metabolic disorder therapies
• Specialty pharmaceuticals

Headquarters

HQ city

South San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Hyperion Therapeutics was a biopharmaceutical company that developed and commercialized treatments for urea cycle disorders and other rare diseases. The company focused on creating pharmaceutical therapies for serious illnesses with limited treatment options, supporting patients, healthcare providers, and clinical settings in the rare disease space.

Product overview

No product or service information for Hyperion Therapeutics was found in the provided source data. The source data contains information about Amgen, a biotechnology company, which is a separate entity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Treatments for urea cycle disorders Pharmaceutical therapies developed by Hyperion Therapeutics for the treatment of urea cycle disorders, addressing a class of rare metabolic diseases with limited treatment options. Targeted at patients, healthcare providers, and specialty clinical settings.
• Treatments for rare diseases (broader pipeline) Additional pharmaceutical therapies in Hyperion's pipeline targeting other rare diseases beyond urea cycle disorders, designed for patients with serious illnesses and limited therapeutic alternatives. Distributed through healthcare providers and specialty channels.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical: Clinical-stage biopharma focused on rare and ultra-rare metabolic diseases, with a commercial and pipeline portfolio directly comparable to Hyperion's rare disease strategy. Targets similar patient populations in metabolic disorders with biologic and small molecule approaches.
• Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi): Specialty biopharma dedicated to rare diseases, including metabolic and genetic disorders, with a similar orphan-drug commercial model. Directly comparable target indications and rare disease patient populations.
• Horizon Therapeutics (now Amgen): Horizon Therapeutics (acquired by Amgen in 2023) acquired Hyperion Therapeutics, and operates as a specialty biopharma with deep overlap in rare metabolic and urea cycle disorder treatments such as Ravicti and Buphenyl. Direct overlap in patient population, mechanism, and commercial infrastructure.
• Raptor Pharmaceutical (acquired by Horizon): Small molecule rare disease company whose portfolio was acquired by Horizon Therapeutics, similar in scale and orphan-disease focus to Hyperion prior to acquisition. Direct precedent for the rare disease commercial strategy pursued by Hyperion.
• Alexion Pharmaceuticals (AstraZeneca Rare Disease): Pioneer in rare disease therapeutics with a portfolio of biologic treatments for metabolic and hematologic disorders. Comparable in targeting rare diseases with high unmet need and biologic modalities.
• BioMarin Pharmaceutical: Global biopharma specializing in rare genetic and metabolic diseases, with multiple approved enzyme replacement and biologic therapies. Directly comparable business model focused on orphan diseases with limited treatment options.

Broad incumbents

• Shire (now Takeda): Historically one of the leading rare disease specialty pharmas with broad rare disease portfolio before acquisition by Takeda. Provides scale and precedent for rare disease commercial models, though broader in scope than Hyperion.
• Genzyme (Sanofi): Established rare disease franchise within Sanofi with pioneering enzyme replacement therapies for metabolic disorders. Broader portfolio across multiple therapeutic areas, but directly relevant enzyme replacement and rare metabolic overlap with Hyperion.
• Recordati Rare Diseases: Specialty division of Recordati focused on rare metabolic and endocrine diseases, with a portfolio including treatments for urea cycle disorders and adjacent rare conditions. Operates a broader portfolio but with meaningful overlap in metabolic rare disease categories.

Emerging players

• Orpharma (Orphan Therapeutics): Emerging rare disease company developing therapies for metabolic and genetic disorders, with a comparable niche orphan disease model. Smaller and earlier-stage than Hyperion but pursuing adjacent rare metabolic indications.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/amgen
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/Amgen
• Facebookfacebook.com/horizon-pharma
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hyperion-therapeutics
• Instagraminstagram.com/amgenbiotech
• TikToktiktok.com/@amgenbiotech

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors8 records

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Hyperion Therapeutics