- Collaboration leverages lead-based (212Pb) alpha emitter expertise and supply of Orano Med with Molecular Partners’ leadership in DARPins for tumor-targeted delivery of radioactive payloads
- Co-Development agreement covers multiple oncology targets, including DLL3
- Companies anticipate first-in-human studies in 2025
The partnership is based upon strong preclinical data supporting a highly differentiated profile for 212Pb-based RDTs. Besides strong binding to target proteins and selective delivery of radioactive payloads, these data have also indicated the ability of RDTs to minimize kidney damage often associated with protein-based radioligand therapies while maintaining high tumor uptake. This agreement represents the first co-development deal for
“Orano Med provides extensive expertise and a secure supply of a powerful, highly focused source of radiation for precision cancer treatment, expanding our RDT portfolio in new directions,” said
“We are extremely excited to start this collaboration with
Under the terms of the co-development agreement, Molecular Partner’s previously disclosed RDT target DLL3 (delta-like ligand 3) will be included in the partnership with Orano Med. Expression of DLL3 is low in healthy tissue but significantly increased in certain tumor types, such as small-cell lung cancer, providing an opportunity for selective tumor-targeting. DLL3 will be exclusively developed by
Both companies commit to sharing the cost of preclinical and clinical development with additional commitments to supply of their respective materials. Additional agreements are being put in place for future development and commercialization of any potential programs that proceed into the clinical stage of development.
About DARPin Therapeutics
DARPin therapeutics are a new class of custom-built protein therapeutics based on natural binding proteins that open a new dimension of multi-functionality and multi-target specificity in drug design. A single DARPin candidate can engage more than five targets, and its flexible architecture and small size offer benefits over other currently available protein therapeutics. DARPin therapeutics have been clinically validated in thousands of patients in multiple indications, including through to registration via the development of abicipar, a DARPin drug candidate for ophthalmological indications. The DARPin platform is a fast and cost-effective drug discovery engine, producing drug candidates with optimized properties for development and very high production yields.
About Molecular Partners AG
About Orano Med SAS
Orano Med is a clinical-stage biotechnology company which develops a new generation of targeted therapies against cancer using the unique properties of lead-212 (212Pb), a rare alpha-emitting radioisotope and one of the more potent therapeutic payloads against cancer cells known as Targeted Alpha-Emitter Therapy (TAT). The company develops several treatments using 212Pb combined with various targeting agents. Orano Med has 212Pb manufacturing facilities, laboratories, and R&D centers in
About Targeted Alpha Therapy
Targeted alpha therapy (TAT) relies on a simple concept: combining the ability of biological molecules to target cancer cells with the short-range cell-killing capabilities of alpha-emitting radioisotopes. Alpha decay consists of the emission of a helium nucleus (alpha particle) together with very high linear energy transfer and a range emission of only few cell layers, resulting in irreparable double strand DNA breaks in cells adjacent only to area of alpha emission. This approach results in an increased cytotoxic potential toward cancer cells while limiting toxicity to nearby healthy cells. As a result, alpha emitters are considered as the most powerful payloads to be found for targeted therapies.
For further details, please contact:
seth.lewis@molecularpartners.com
Tel: +1 781 420 2361
Zurich-Schlieren,
laura.jeanbart@molecularpartners.com
Tel: +41 44 575 19 35
Orano Med
Sophie Letournel
Strategy, governance, and communication director
sophie.letournel@orano.group
Tel: +33 6 38 44 34 11
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Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including, without limitation, implied and express statements regarding the clinical development of Molecular Partners’ current or future product candidates, expectations regarding timing for reporting data from ongoing clinical trials or the initiation of future clinical trials, the potential therapeutic and clinical benefits of Molecular Partners’ product candidates, the selection and development of future antiviral or other programs, and Molecular Partners’ expected business and financial outlook, including expenses and cash utilization for 2023 and its expectation of its current cash runway. These statements may be identified by words such as “believe”, “expect”, “may”, “plan”, “potential”, “will”, “would” and similar expressions, and are based on Molecular Partners’ current beliefs and expectations. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in such statements. Some of the key factors that could cause actual results to differ from Molecular Partners’ expectations include its plans to develop and potentially commercialize its product candidates; Molecular Partners’ reliance on third party partners and collaborators over which it may not always have full control; Molecular Partners’ ongoing and planned clinical trials and preclinical studies for its product candidates, including the timing of such trials and studies; the risk that the results of preclinical studies and clinical trials may not be predictive of future results in connection with future clinical trials; the timing of and Molecular Partners’ ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for its product candidates; the extent of clinical trials potentially required for Molecular Partners’ product candidates; the clinical utility and ability to achieve market acceptance of Molecular Partners’ product candidates; the impact of any health pandemic, macroeconomic factors and other global events on Molecular Partners’ preclinical studies, clinical trials or operations, or the operations of third parties on which it relies; Molecular Partners’ plans and development of any new indications for its product candidates; Molecular Partners’ commercialization, marketing and manufacturing capabilities and strategy; Molecular Partners’ intellectual property position; Molecular Partners’ ability to identify and in-license additional product candidates; and other risks and uncertainties that are described in the Risk Factors section of Molecular Partners’ Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended
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2024 GlobeNewswire, Inc., source