MSD, the tradename of Merck & Co., Rahway, New Jersey, has entered into a non-exclusive licensing and option agreement with Austria-based Cyprumed to develop oral peptide-based therapeutics.
The transaction could see Cyprumed receive up to $493m through upfront, development, regulatory and sales-based milestone payments.
Cyprumed CEO Florian Föger said: “This collaboration with Merck, a company dedicated to peptide therapeutics, marks a significant step for Cyprumed.
“Our drug delivery technology, with its proven effectiveness and scalability, has the potential to unlock new opportunities in peptide therapeutics. Continuing this collaboration with Merck to develop our innovative tablet formulations for additional targets is a great validation of our technology.”
Under the terms of the agreement, MSD has secured non-exclusive global rights to Cyprumed’s proprietary oral peptide delivery platform for use across an undisclosed number of therapeutic targets.
The deal also includes an option for MSD to obtain exclusive rights for individual targets at a later stage. Should MSD exercise this exclusive option, Cyprumed will be entitled to further payments.
MSD will lead all research, development, manufacturing and commercialisation activities for products developed using Cyprumed’s delivery platform.
MSD Research Laboratories pharmaceutical sciences vice president Allen Templeton said: “We look forward to collaborating with the Cyprumed team to leverage their technology to help advance our macrocyclic peptide development efforts.”
Cyprumed’s technology portfolio centres on three proprietary oral delivery platforms tailored to peptides and BCS Class IV drugs. These include an intestinal peptide delivery platform, a gastric peptide delivery platform, and a formulation technology designed specifically for difficult-to-absorb compounds such as PROTACs.
The intestinal platform, according to the company, enables oral administration of peptide drugs while meeting the required pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and safety criteria for further development.
Preclinical models have demonstrated average double-digit absolute bioavailability with this platform in large non-rodent species. The tablet formulations apply a holistic approach to drug delivery that extends beyond single excipient use, said the company.
Cyprumed also claims that for specific peptides, gastric delivery has resulted in higher bioavailability than intestinal delivery. Its gastric delivery platform is based on a distinct formulation method and has delivered high single-digit average absolute bioavailability in large animal models.
In response to increased development of BCS Class IV injectable compounds, including those with high molecular weights and low solubility, Cyprumed has developed a proprietary oral formulation platform. This system is said to have achieved average double-digit absolute bioavailability for such compounds while allowing high drug loading in tablet form.
