Orphan drug specialist Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals, which was founded in 2010 and raised US$75 M in a Series B equity financing in December 2012, has signed its second licensing deal of 2013. The company has partnered with Japan-based Kyowa Hakko Kirin for the development and commercialisation of KRN23, a potentially first-in-class recombinant fully human monoclonal IgG1 antibody in Phase I/II development for the treatment of X-linked hypophosphataemia, a rare metabolic bone disorder. Ultragenyx is led by Dr Emil D. Kakkis, who was formerly Chief Medical Officer at BioMarin Pharmaceutical.