CDT Equity Inc. (NASDAQ: CDT) announced a partnership with QIMA Life Sciences to advance therapies targeting autoimmune skin diseases, including a second-generation development of the drug tapinarof.
The collaboration will leverage QIMA's access to human skin samples from both healthy donors and patients. QIMA will examine drug combinations in psoriatic patient skin to help develop an improved formulation of tapinarof, which is currently marketed under the brand name VTAMA.
Tapinarof is already approved in the United States and Japan for treating plaque psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. CDT Equity holds an intellectual property portfolio around the molecule, encompassing patents on solid formulations and method-of-use combinations with other drugs.
The company plans to investigate its proprietary tapinarof combinations for vitiligo, an autoimmune condition affecting an estimated 0.5% to 2.0% of the global population. The opportunity is significant: the global vitiligo drug market was valued at approximately $2.6 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow to $6.6 billion by 2030, according to the filing.
QIMA Life Sciences, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, is a contract research organization specializing in cellular and molecular pharmacology. It provides preclinical and clinical research solutions in partnership with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
CDT Equity, headquartered in Naples, Florida, describes itself as a biopharmaceutical development firm focused on identifying and advancing therapeutic assets through scientific innovation and strategic partnerships.
