PeptiDream announced that it has entered into a multi-program collaborative research agreement with Osaka-based Shionogi & Co., Ltd for the discovery and development of a series of blood brain barrier (BBB) penetrating peptide drug-conjugates (PDCs).
PeptiDream will use its proprietary Peptide Discovery Platform System (PDPS) technology to identify macrocyclic/constrained peptides against multiple targets known to be involved in shuttling compounds across the BBB, selected by Shionogi. Identified peptides will then be optimized to maximize BBB penetration, cargo conjugation, and the types of cargoes they are capable of shuttling across the BBB. The companies will then work together to produce novel PDC therapeutics for CNS indications, by combining BBB carrier peptides, identified by PeptiDream, with Shionogi’s own drugs and/or drug candidate compounds.
Under the terms of the agreement, PeptiDream will receive an undisclosed upfront payment, annual R&D funding, and is eligible for payments associated with the achievement of certain preclinical and clinical development milestones, in addition to royalties on sales of any products containing the PDCs commercialized by Shionogi.
PeptiDream will continue to work with Shionogi to develop macrocyclic/constrained peptides against multiple targets of interest selected by Shionogi, and to optimize hit peptides into therapeutic peptides or small molecule products using PeptiDream’s PDPS technology, under the original agreement in February 2016.
[Comment from Dr. Keiichi Masuya, Executive Vice President of PeptiDream Inc.]
“There exists considerable unmet medical needs in treating CNS disorders largely due to the challenges in getting drugs across the BBB. Peptides capable of carrying a conjugated cargo across the BBB represents an exciting new avenue for treating CNS disorders. We are extremely excited to be working with our strong collaboration partner Shionogi in these efforts, conjugating our BBB penetrating peptide candidates with Shionogi’s CNS drug candidates. We believe there are potentially many applications for these BBB carrier peptides, and believe that we can improve and accelerate novel treatments for CNS disorders.”
In the past eight years, PeptiDream has established funded discovery collaborations with 19 of the leading pharmaceutical companies; Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Mitsubishi Tanabe, Daiichi Sankyo, Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA, Sanofi, Teijin, Kyorin, Ipsen, Genentech, Shionogi, Asahi Kasei, Janssen, Bayer, and Santen, all of which are active and ongoing. In addition, PeptiDream has transferred its PDPS discovery platform for broad use to Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Novartis, Lilly, Genentech, Shionogi, and Merck (Merck & Co. Inc., Kenilworth NJ, USA).