Redx Pharma

Company Overview

A UK-based clinical-stage biotechnology company developing small molecule therapies for fibrotic diseases, with a lead GI-restricted ROCK inhibitor in fibrostenotic Crohn's disease and a pending Nasdaq listing via merger with Skye Bioscience. Redx describes its focus as novel, targeted small molecules for fibrosis — a disease mechanism that runs across gastroenterology, pulmonology, and oncology. The company's track record as a drug originator is credible: it originated pirtobrutinib, now approved as Jaypirca, and has generated multiple out-licensing deals with major pharma partners.

Headquarters and Global Presence

Redx is headquartered at Block 33, Mereside, Alderley Park, Macclesfield, England. The Alderley Park campus, a former AstraZeneca research site, has been the company's base throughout its development as a drug discovery and clinical-stage organization. Under the pending Skye transaction, Alderley Park is confirmed as the headquarters of the combined Fibrx Therapeutics entity.

Founding and History

Redx was incorporated on September 7, 2010 as Redx Pharma Limited. It joined AIM in 2015, raising GBP 15 million at a GBP 55 million valuation, and traded as Redx Pharma plc until May 2024. With 99.75% shareholder approval, the company delisted from AIM effective May 1, 2024, re-registering as a private limited company on the stated grounds that AIM valuations undervalued the business and constrained access to the larger funding rounds the strategy required.

Therapy Areas and Focus

Redx's entire current pipeline targets fibrotic disease, spanning gastrointestinal, pulmonary, hepatic, and renal indications. The strategic logic is that fibrosis is the final common pathway in multiple chronic diseases yet remains poorly served by approved pharmacology. More than 50% of Crohn's patients develop significant fibrosis and stricture formation within ten years of diagnosis, and no drug is approved specifically for intestinal fibrosis. Surgery remains the default intervention for fibrotic strictures, framing the commercial case for RXC008.

Technology Platforms and Modalities

Redx works exclusively with oral small molecules, applying medicinal chemistry to generate selective kinase inhibitors across the ROCK and DDR families. The GI-restriction approach used in RXC008 is the design feature that separates it from systemic ROCK inhibitors: it aims to achieve high local tissue exposure in the gut wall while limiting systemic absorption, which is what caused hypotension to be the class-limiting side effect in earlier pan-ROCK programs. Zelasudil applies next-generation ROCK2 selectivity to reduce the cardiovascular liability associated with ROCK1 inhibition. The preclinical DDR program is built across five distinct chemical series with multiple patents, covering kidney, lung, and liver fibrosis.

Key Pipeline and Programs

RXC008 is Redx's lead asset, an oral GI-restricted pan-ROCK inhibitor in development as a potential first-in-class treatment for fibrostenotic Crohn's disease. A completed Phase I study demonstrated favorable tolerability and GI tissue exposure with no clinically relevant systemic breakthrough, no hypotension, and no serious adverse events. The FDA granted fast track designation on March 10, 2026. A Phase II study is set to start in the fourth quarter of 2026, with topline data expected in the second half of 2028.

Zelasudil (RXC007) is a selective ROCK2 inhibitor that completed a signal-searching Phase IIa program in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung disease, with data reported in 2025. Redx describes zelasudil as Phase Ib/II ready in MASH and cancer-associated fibrosis but has positioned it for partnering rather than internal late-stage development.

The DDR inhibitor program is preclinical, targeting Discoidin Domain Receptors across kidney, lung, and liver fibrosis through five distinct chemical series. An IND submission is expected in 2027. RXC006, a porcupine inhibitor originally licensed to AstraZeneca as AZD5055, completed a Phase I under AstraZeneca before being returned to Redx in April 2026; the company is assessing how to progress it.

Recent Developments

August and September 2026 have been the most consequential months in Redx's recent history. On August 14, 2026, Skye Bioscience and Redx announced a transaction agreement to create Fibrx Therapeutics, Inc., a Nasdaq-listed fibrosis-focused company, underpinned by approximately $125 million in gross proceeds. A $36 million Series A led by Abingworth, with the British Business Bank and Redmile participating, closed on August 28, 2026. On September 2, 2026, Mei-Lun Wang, M.D., joined as Chief Medical Officer, completing a gastroenterology leadership build-out that also added Bernard Coulie, M.D., Ph.D., to the board on August 27, 2026.

Key Personnel

Lisa Anson serves as Chief Executive Officer. She has held the role since 2018 and was previously President of AstraZeneca UK. Dr. Caroline Phillips serves as Chief Scientific Officer, leading Redx's research and discovery operations. Mei-Lun Wang, M.D., joined as Chief Medical Officer on September 2, 2026; a pediatric gastroenterologist with over 25 years of experience, she previously served as VP, Clinical Development at Alladapt Immunotherapeutics and held clinical development roles at GSK, where she led strategy and protocol development for multiple Phase IIa trials.

Strategic Partnerships

The most consequential current transaction is the pending acquisition by Skye Bioscience, announced August 14, 2026, which will create Fibrx Therapeutics and bring a Nasdaq listing. The $125 million financing package involves Abingworth, Redmile, the British Business Bank, NEXTBio Capital, and 5AM Ventures. Legacy partnerships include a KRAS inhibitor program sold to Jazz Pharmaceuticals in February 2024 for $10 million upfront and up to $870 million in milestones, and the earlier RAF inhibitor program sold to Jazz in July 2019, from which Redx retains mid-single-digit royalties on future net sales of JZP815. Zamaporvint is being evaluated with pembrolizumab under a clinical collaboration and supply agreement with Merck.

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