Following Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly Lands' long-term metabolic drug research and development partner
Eli Lilly’s engineered peptide drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound are weekly injectable products that make expensive formulas and manufactured and heavy formulas for patients who don’t like needles. Lilly reached a deal that would alleviate both problems. It works with Camurus, a technology that expands the dose of injectable drugs.
The cooperation and licensing agreement announced late Tuesday grants Eli Lilly exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize long-acting drugs based on Comurus. The terms of the transaction allow Eli Lilly to pay up to $290 million in advance, development and regulatory milestone payments.
The platform technology of Comurus, based in Sweden, is called FluidCrystal, which allows injections to last for a long time. The fluid crystals use a lipid solution that is converted into a liquid crystal gel after contact with the body fluid. According to Camurus, the gel encapsulates the active pharmaceutical ingredients of the drug. As the liquid crystal matrix degrades over time, it slowly releases the drug. This version can be adjusted from days to weeks.
FluidCrystal is verified by Comurus' formula, known as Buvidal, which is sold as an opioid-dependent treatment (North America's rights to the product have been licensed by Braeburn to sell it as Brixadi). Comurus has established partnerships with other companies, as well as internal channels for product candidates at various development stages.
The new agreement spans up to four Eli Lilly drugs. These drugs include peptides designed to activate GLP-1 and GIP, which is the mechanism of action of approved Eli Lilly products Zepbough and Mounjaro. The protocol also covers drugs that hit GLP-1, GIP and glucagon, as well as glucagon and GLP-1 agonists. The deal includes an option that includes a drug that activates another receptor, amylene.
The ability to expand the dose of Eli Lilly will allow each dose to last longer, thereby reducing the manufacturing burden of these required products. For much of the past two years, peptide drugs for type 2 diabetes and weight loss have been lacking. If the drug covered by the partnership with Camurus arrives in the market, Lilly will be responsible for paying up to $580 million in sales-based milestone payments and royalties for product sales.
Comurus President and CEO Fredrik Tiberg said in a prepared statement that the collaboration allows his company to leverage its technology in a rapidly expanding therapeutic area while maintaining its commercial focus on central nervous system diseases and rare diseases.
Novo Nordisk also collaborates to acquire technologies that can expand GLP-1 drug dosage. Danish pharmaceutical giants have formed an alliance with Ascendis Pharma. The platform technology of this biotechnology is called TransCon, the abbreviation for transient binding. According to Ascendis, the technology links inert carriers to parent drugs. Ascendis is injected into the body, and it can be predicted that over time, this prodrug can predictably release the parent drug molecule, which in turn allows for less administration.
Last November, Novo Nordisk's advance and milestone payment commitments were promised $285 million, starting to focus on the Ascendis Alliance, which develops drugs for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. The Lead Program is developing a monthly Semaglutide, the main drug ingredient in the weekly injectable drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
Photo: Konrad Fiedler/Bloomberg, by Getty Images
