With a new year on the horizon, a clutch of companies have decided on new names for 2024. Pipeline Therapeutics has become Contineum Therapeutics, while Novozymes and Chr. Hansen have picked Novonesis as their new shared identity.
Companies rebrand for a wide range of reasons. Some are trying to distance themselves from a troubled past, others simply outgrow their original names as they expand beyond their original focus. A third set of companies need to find a new name when they merge, either by mashing together their existing brands or by creating a new identity that reflects their ambitions for the combined organization.
Pipeline framed its rebrand as a product of an expanded focus. The biotech grew out of a deal between Roche and VC shop Versant Ventures. When Roche bought one program, Versant set up a successor, Pipeline, to develop neuro-regenerative therapies.
Five years later, Pipeline has expanded its focus to cover oral small-molecule therapies for neuroscience, inflammation and immunology indications. The biotech picked Contineum as its new name in the belief it “represents its continuous dedication to the pursuit of scientific discovery and cutting-edge solutions designed to benefit patients.”
In 2021, the biotech raised an $80 million series C round to fund work on PIPE-505 in sensorineural hearing loss and PIPE-307 in multiple sclerosis. Later, PIPE-505 quietly disappeared from the pipeline. The current pipeline is headed up by PIPE-791, which is in development in indications including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
The circumstances of the Novozymes-Chr. Hansen rebrand are different. One year ago, Novozymes agreed to pay $12.3 billion to acquire the biotech ingredients supplier. This week, the parties received European Commission clearance to close the deal and quickly followed up with details of a new name.
According to the companies, the “name reflects the beginning of an era of biosolutions where Novonesis will unleash the full potential of biological solutions and generate significant value for all stakeholders and society at large. The new name will be implemented “gradually” once the merger closes next year.