HQ Team
January 4, 2023: PeptiDream Inc., a Japan-based biopharmaceutical company, has signed a new multi-target agreement with U.S.-based Merck & Co, Inc. and Eli Lilly for the development of novel peptide drug conjugates (PDCs).
PeptiDream will receive an upfront payment of more than $2.1 billion in commercial and development milestones from Merck to provide peptide candidates identified from PeptiDream’s proprietary Peptide Discovery Platform System (PDPS) technology for use as PDCs against targets of interest.
Elie Lilly will pay a total of $1.235 billion to PeptiDream on the achievement of specified development, regulatory, and commercial milestones for using its Peptide Discovery Platform.
PeptiDream has signed a slew of deals with drug developers such as Alnylam and Takeda based on the use of its peptide discovery platform system. The system enables PeptiDream to identify peptides that can serve as the targeting mechanism for therapies. Once conjugated, the peptides take payloads to their targets without intolerable toxicity.
Merck already signed a multitarget discovery and optimization alliance with PeptiDream in 2015. Merck has secured exclusive rights to the peptide candidates for conjugation to cytotoxic payloads. Merck will be responsible for the development of any peptide-drug conjugate products arising from the collaboration.
Lilly too is a partner of PeptiDream since 2013. In its latest deal with Lilly, PeptiDream will identify high-affinity macrocyclic peptide ligands to its targets of interest. Lilly will use the peptides to deliver its conjugated payload.
The big payment agreed upon by both the pharma companies is contingent on it meeting milestones down the line.
