Caisson Biotech Expands Drug Delivery Deal With Novo Nordisk
Caisson Biotech, LLC recently announced it has expanded the scope of its partnership with global healthcare leader Novo Nordisk A/S. This latest license agreement gives Novo Nordisk exclusive rights to commercialize insulin conjugated to HEPtune, and non-exclusive rights to leverage the HEPtune technology across other core therapeutic areas, including other diabetes care products, human growth hormone therapy, treatments for obesity, and for inflammatory diseases, such as Crohn’s, lupus, rheumatoid, and psoriatic arthritis.
Under the terms of the agreement, Caisson will be eligible to receive up to $167 million in milestone payments upon achievement of certain predefined clinical, regulatory, and commercial objectives plus potential long-term residual royalties.
“Novo Nordisk has completed feasibility studies that preclinically validate Caisson’s heparosan-based drug delivery technology for product pharmacokinetics and enhanced half-life,” said Dr. Paul DeAngelis, Chief Scientist of Caisson. “The HEPtune technology uses heparosan, a naturally occurring sugar polymer produced by the body that is stable and inert in the bloodstream while being biodegradable. Furthermore, HEPtune can be customized with respect to polymer size and conjugation chemistry, thus providing flexibility to enhance a variety of therapeutic proteins and peptides.”
“As a respected healthcare leader, Novo Nordisk has been an ideal partner and provides the infrastructure and expertise necessary to develop these much-needed therapeutic products,” added Thomas Harlan, CEO of Caisson. “We look forward to our continued collaboration under this new license and to assisting Novo Nordisk in achieving its goal of developing these products and helping more patients.”
Caisson Biotech, a wholly owned subsidiary of Heparinex, LLC, uses novel, heparosan-based conjugates to enhance the therapeutic properties of pharmaceuticals by increasing product half-life, reducing immunogenicity, and increasing stability. Chief Scientist and Professor Dr. Paul L. DeAngelis and his team at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, developed this newly invented drug delivery platform. For more information, visit www.caissonbiotech.com.
Caisson is funded and managed by Emergent Technologies, Inc. an innovation solutions and technology commercialization leader headquartered in Austin, TX. For more information, visit www.emergenttechnologies.com.
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