Businessmodel of Aptinyx

Customer Segments

Aptinyx has a niche market business model, with a specialized customer segment. The company is developing its drug offerings for people afflicted with brain and nervous system disorders.

Value Proposition

Aptinyx offers three primary value propositions: innovation, accessibility, and performance.

The company’s methodology is distinguished by its innovation. Pharmaceutical researchers have long tried to develop compounds that target the NMDA receptor. Compounds that turn the receptor “on” can produce neuronal damage; therefore, most research has focused on those that turn receptors “off”. That said, this approach poses safety concerns as well, such as psychosis-like symptoms. Aptinyx’s strategy is to develop compounds that do not turn the receptor fully on or off.

The company creates accessibility by targeting a wide range of conditions. Its drugs have compounds that enhance pathways involved in nerve cell communication through modulation of the NMDA receptor. This system is applicable across a wide variety of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, which is why Aptinyx believes its offerings have promising potential for everything from epilepsy to neuropathic pain to traumatic brain injury to post-traumatic stress disorder.

The company has demonstrated strong performance. It maintains a robust chemistry platform of NMDA receptor modulators. It has established a discovery screening process that quickly evaluates the functional and binding properties of the modulators. The compounds that form these modulators have been effective in a wide variety of disease models, including those for depression, migraines, and age-induced learning impairment. They have also-shown to be fast-acting, working within hours.

Channels

Aptinyx’s products are not yet commercially-available and are still undergoing clinical trials. The company promotes and provides information about its drug pipeline through its website and social media pages.

Customer Relationships

Aptinyx’s customer relationship is primarily of a self-service nature. Customers learn about its offerings through its website while having limited interaction with employees. That said, there is a personal assistance component in the form of phone and e-mail support.

Key Activities

Aptinyx’s business model entails designing and developing drugs for consumers with brain and nervous system disorders.

Key Partners

Aptinyx plans to work with Allergan on the identification and preclinical development of small-molecule, orally-bioavailable NMDA receptor modulators for the treatment of specific neurologic and psychiatric disorders. Allergan reserves the right to in-license certain compounds discovered during this process for specified target indications.

Key Resources

Aptinyx’s main resources are its laboratories and its human resources, who include research scientists, research technologists, and quality systems specialists. As a relatively new spin-off it has relied heavily on outside funding, raising $65 million from 10 investors as of May 2016.

Cost Structure

Aptinyx has a value-driven structure, aiming to provide a premium proposition through extensive research and development and wide applicability for its products. Its biggest cost driver is likely R&D, a fixed cost. Other major drivers are in the areas of product development and administration, also fixed expenses.

Revenue Streams

Aptinyx currently has no revenue streams as its offerings are not yet commercially available. When they do go on the market, its main revenue stream will likely be product sales.