Pharma really wants them. You're seeing a lot of the big players moving into the FDC space.
In the wake of the GLP-1 revolution, a Sydney biotech is quietly assembling a different kind of answer to Type 2 diabetes — not a rival to Ozempic, but a complement to it, and perhaps a successor. Myopharm, founded by a former Novartis and Pfizer executive alongside a veteran drug developer, has built TriGlytza from three familiar molecules, betting that the inflammation underlying diabetes has been underserved by the blockbusters that dominate the market. As the largest patent cliff in pharmaceutical history approaches, the company is positioning itself not merely as a treatment innovator, but as an acquisition target for giants who must reinvent themselves or diminish.
- Seventy-five percent of diabetes patients fail their first-line therapy within a year, and nearly one in five cannot tolerate GLP-1 drugs at all — a gap large enough to anchor an entire company's ambition.
- TriGlytza's FDA fast-track designation allowed Myopharm to bypass Phase 1 safety trials entirely, compressing the timeline to human testing and sharpening its appeal to acquirers under pressure.
- Thirty-three blockbuster drugs face patent expiration in the coming year alone, forcing pharmaceutical giants to hunt for next-generation assets at precisely the stage Myopharm is entering.
- A $5 million raise and ASX listing are underway, with Phase 2a trials planned in Australia to exploit R&D tax incentives returning up to 48 cents per dollar — a capital-efficient path through the most expensive phase of development.
- Founder Karinza Phoenix is fielding roughly a dozen nightly inquiries from American pharmaceutical companies and has already received early interest from GLP-1 firms in the US and Korea, signalling that the exit strategy may arrive before Phase 3 begins.
Karinza Phoenix sits in investor meetings and hears the same refrain: they're diabetics themselves, poorly controlled, desperate for something new. Some are already receiving weekly injections into their eyes. It's a pitch that has worked — the Sydney biotech she co-founded has raised $6 million and is preparing an ASX listing as it advances TriGlytza, a diabetes drug designed to do what GLP-1 treatments like Ozempic and Mounjaro cannot.
Phoenix spent two decades inside Novartis and Pfizer before pivoting to biotech funding. She founded Myopharm in 2020 alongside veteran drug developer Dr Milton Grannatt, at a moment when evidence was mounting that diabetics faced sharply elevated mortality from COVID-19 and that diabetes itself appeared causal in cancers and heart disease. Working through university IP trade desks, they found Dr Ravi Kumar at a struggling New Jersey biotech, acquired his TriGlytza patents in early 2024, and secured FDA Investigational New Drug approval — allowing the therapy to skip Phase 1 safety trials and move directly to Phase 2 human testing.
TriGlytza is a fixed-dose combination of three well-studied molecules: metformin, the classic first-line diabetes tablet; Valsartan, a blood pressure drug with long-observed effects on diabetes progression; and Celecoxib, an anti-inflammatory. Monash University diabetes researcher Professor Mark Cooper, an unpaid advisor, calls the combination clever. Together, the three drugs appear to address the inflammation Phoenix describes as the root cause of Type 2 diabetes — with the potential to function as an affordable oral therapy before patients graduate to insulin and expensive injectables. Mouse studies also suggest the drug could reduce visceral fat without the muscle loss that troubles many GLP-1 users.
The commercial logic is compelling. The global diabetes therapeutics market exceeds $100 billion annually, and the GLP-1 segment alone is projected to double or triple by 2034. Yet 75 percent of patients fail first-line therapy within twelve months, and 18 percent cannot tolerate GLP-1 drugs at all. TriGlytza is designed to serve that population — either as a complement to GLP-1s or as a standalone therapy.
Phoenix is also betting on a pharmaceutical reckoning. By her reckoning, the coming year will see the largest patent cliff in pharmaceutical history, with 33 blockbuster drugs losing protection and major companies urgently acquiring next-generation assets. Myopharm holds patent protection extending to at least 2046. The company is raising $5 million for a Phase 2a trial of 48 patients in Australia, where R&D tax incentives return up to 48 cents on the dollar, with an ASX listing targeted for the second half of 2026. Phoenix's preference is to strike a deal with a pharmaceutical partner before Phase 3 — a phase that would need to be conducted in the United States. She already receives roughly a dozen nightly emails from American companies and has fielded early interest from GLP-1 firms in the US and Korea. Myopharm's future, she says, lies offshore — built on the conviction that as the GLP-1 era matures, there will be room for a drug that addresses what those blockbusters leave behind.
Karinza Phoenix sits in investor meetings and hears the same refrain over and over: they're diabetics themselves, poorly controlled, desperate for something new. Some are already getting weekly injections into their eyes. They tell her they can't wait for what Myopharm is building. It's a pitch that has worked. The Sydney biotech has raised $6 million and is preparing an ASX listing as it advances TriGlytza, a diabetes drug designed to do what the blockbuster GLP-1 treatments like Ozempic and Mounjaro cannot.
Phoenix, a former executive at Novartis and Pfizer who spent two decades inside global pharmaceutical giants before pivoting to capital markets and biotech funding, founded Myopharm in 2020 with veteran drug developer Dr Milton Grannatt. The timing was deliberate. Evidence was mounting that diabetics faced far higher mortality from COVID-19, and that diabetes itself might be causal in cancers, heart disease, and other acute conditions. Yet despite new treatments flooding the market, too many patients were still failing to achieve sustained control. Phoenix and Grannatt began systematically working through university IP trade desks and research organizations, mapping what was coming through the pipeline. They found Dr Ravi Kumar, a researcher at a struggling New Jersey biotech called Arkay Therapeutics, who had developed patents around a novel Type 2 diabetes treatment. Myopharm acquired the TriGlytza intellectual property in early 2024 and secured what Phoenix calls the "golden goose" of biotech development: FDA Investigational New Drug approval, allowing the therapy to skip Phase 1 safety trials and move directly to Phase 2 human testing.
TriGlytza is a fixed-dose combination—three existing, well-studied molecules bundled into a single treatment. The foundation is metformin, the classic first-line diabetes tablet. To it, Myopharm has added Valsartan, a blood pressure drug that research from two decades ago suggested could slow diabetes progression, and Celecoxib, an anti-inflammatory. Professor Mark Cooper, head of diabetes research at Monash University and an unpaid advisor to Myopharm, calls the combination clever. The three drugs are relatively cheap, and taken together as an oral tablet, TriGlytza could function as an effective first-line therapy before patients graduate to insulin and expensive injectables. The mechanism, Cooper explains, centers on inflammation. Valsartan alone was never potent enough to be a standalone diabetes drug, but its anti-inflammatory properties, combined with metformin's glucose-reducing action and Celecoxib's broader inflammatory suppression, appear to address what Phoenix describes as the root cause of Type 2 diabetes.
The market opportunity is vast. The global diabetes therapeutics market exceeds $100 billion annually and continues growing as obesity rates rise worldwide. The GLP-1 market alone is valued between $62 billion and $73 billion and is projected to double or triple by 2034. Yet Phoenix points to a critical gap: 75 percent of people fail their first-line therapy within twelve months of diagnosis. Eighteen percent of people fail GLP-1 drugs entirely—they are, in her terminology, GLP naive. Some, like billionaire James Packer, have publicly stated the drugs simply didn't work for them. TriGlytza is positioned to capture that population and others for whom GLP-1s prove insufficient. Mouse studies also suggest the drug could drive weight loss, particularly of visceral fat, without the muscle loss that plagues many GLP-1 users. People in their fifties and sixties using those injectables are standing on DEXA scan machines watching their muscle mass disappear—a problem as they approach the years when frailty becomes a serious health threat.
Phoenix is also betting on a coming pharmaceutical earthquake. Thirty-three blockbuster drugs and another hundred medications will lose patent protection in the next year alone—the largest patent cliff in pharmaceutical history, by her reckoning. Major pharmaceutical companies are desperate to find the next generation of diabetes treatments, and they're acquiring assets at the Phase 2 and IND stages. Myopharm has secured patent protection extending to at least 2046, providing the commercial runway needed to attract a future partner. The company is raising $5 million to fund a Phase 2a trial of 48 patients over 16 weeks, conducted in Australia where R&D tax incentives return up to 48 cents on the dollar of eligible spending. An ASX listing is pencilled in for the second half of 2026.
Phoenix is currently on a pre-IPO roadshow through Singapore, China, and Hong Kong, finishing at an American Diabetes Association conference. She sees TriGlytza occupying one of two futures: either as an adjunct therapy used alongside GLP-1s, complementing rather than competing with them, or as a monotherapy for Type 2 diabetes in its own right. Fixed-dose combinations have become one of the hottest areas in diabetes drug development, with around 18 currently progressing through clinical trials globally. Major pharmaceutical players are moving aggressively into the space, acquiring assets to complement their existing blockbuster portfolios. If Myopharm's Phase 2 trial succeeds, a final registration trial would follow, enrolling roughly 350 participants over six months. Phoenix's preference is to strike a commercial deal with a pharmaceutical partner before Phase 3 begins—a phase that would need to be conducted in the United States. She receives roughly a dozen emails nightly from American companies and has already fielded early-stage interest from GLP-1 firms in the US and Korea. Myopharm's future, she says, lies offshore in some form. The company is betting that as the GLP-1 era matures and patent cliffs reshape the pharmaceutical landscape, there will be room for a drug that addresses what those blockbusters leave behind.
Notable Quotes
How many times do I present to these high-net-worth individuals and they say, 'I'm a poorly controlled diabetic.' They know what's coming.— Karinza Phoenix, founder of Myopharm
The problem with a lot of the GLP1 drugs in the market right now is you lose your muscle mass. People between 50 and 60 are standing on DEXA scan machines noticing they've lost all their muscle.— Karinza Phoenix
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does a combination of three old drugs matter when the market is dominated by these new GLP-1 blockbusters?
Because 18 percent of people don't respond to GLP-1s at all, and another 75 percent fail their first therapy within a year. You're not replacing Ozempic—you're catching the people it misses and the people who come off it. And you're doing it with an oral tablet instead of a weekly injection.
But if these three molecules have been around for decades, why hasn't anyone tried this combination before?
They have, in isolation. Valsartan showed promise 20 years ago but wasn't potent enough alone. The insight here is that inflammation drives Type 2 diabetes, and you need three mechanisms working together—glucose reduction, blood pressure control, and anti-inflammatory action—to address it properly. That's the novel part.
The muscle loss from GLP-1s sounds like a real problem. How does TriGlytza avoid that?
Mouse studies suggest it drives weight loss without the muscle wasting you see with GLP-1s. That matters enormously for people in their fifties and sixties who are already heading toward frailty. But we won't know if that holds in humans until Phase 2 data comes back.
Why is the timing so critical right now?
Because 33 blockbuster drugs are coming off patent in the next year. Pharma companies are desperate for the next thing, and they're willing to acquire assets at Phase 2 stage. Myopharm has FDA approval to skip Phase 1 and move straight to human trials. That's rare and valuable. The window is open.
What's the realistic path to market?
Phase 2a in Australia this year, then ideally a partnership deal with a major pharma before Phase 3. That final trial would be in the US and would need 350 patients over six months. If all goes well, you're looking at a drug that could be available in the next few years—but that's best case.