Lisata Therapeutics, Inc. and Catalent, Inc. recently announced a global product license agreement that allows Catalent to incorporate Lisata’s certepetide into antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) developed using Catalent’s SMARTag technology platform. Certepetide, a proprietary, internalizing RGD (arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid) or iRGD cyclic peptide, is being tested by Lisata as a cancer therapeutic to be used in combination with other anti-cancer agents to enhance tumor targeting and penetration and improve treatment outcomes.

Under the licensing agreement, Catalent gains worldwide, non-exclusive rights to develop and commercialize bioconjugate products containing certepetide and its analogs, including the ability to partner with third parties. As part of this collaboration, Catalent will have the right to evaluate certepetide and its analogs as SMARTag payloads in clinical studies across multiple ADCs targeting difficult-to-treat diseases, with the goal of creating a new class of targeted bioconjugate therapies. Lisata is eligible to receive over $10 million in tiered study initiation milestone payments plus revenue sharing on future sales and partnerships.

“This collaboration is based on positive preclinical results generated by Catalent’s use of an iRGD peptide as part of its SMARTag ADC platform,” stated Kristen K. Buck, MD, Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer of Lisata. “It underscores our mutual belief in certepetide’s broad potential and is another significant step forward in Lisata’s mission to bring transformative therapies to patients. Catalent’s technology and innovative approach are a perfect complement to certepetide’s biology.” Preclinical work supporting incorporation of iRGD peptides into the SMARTag ADC platform will be highlighted at this November’s World ADC conference in San Diego.

“We are excited about the opportunity to explore iRGD biology as it relates to ADC delivery to the tumor microenvironment. Early data suggest that incorporating iRGD peptides into ADCs improves efficacy and pharmacokinetics, leading us to be optimistic about the potential of iRGD as a novel payload class,” said Penelope Drake, Head of R&D, Bioconjugates at Catalent.

Lisata Therapeutics is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of advanced solid tumors and other major diseases. Lisata’s cyclic peptide product candidate, certepetide, is an investigational drug designed to activate a novel uptake pathway that allows co-administered or tethered anti-cancer drugs to selectively target and penetrate solid tumors more effectively. Lisata has already established noteworthy commercial and R&D partnerships based on its CendR Platform^® technology. The Company expects to announce numerous milestones over the next 1.5 years and believes that its projected capital will fund operations through the fourth quarter of 2026, encompassing anticipated data milestones from its ongoing and planned clinical trials. For a comprehensive overview of certepetide’s mechanism of action, please view our informative short film. For more information on the Company, please visit www.lisata.com.

Certepetide (formerly LSTA1), an internalizing RGD (arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid or iRGD), cyclic peptide product candidate, is an investigational drug designed to activate a novel uptake pathway that allows co-administered or tethered anti-cancer drugs to target and penetrate solid tumors more effectively. Certepetide actuates this active transport system in a tumor-specific manner, resulting in systemically co-administered anti-cancer drugs more efficiently penetrating and accumulating in the tumor. Certepetide also has been shown to modify the tumor microenvironment resulting in tumors which are more susceptible to immunotherapies. We and our collaborators have amassed significant non-clinical data demonstrating enhanced delivery of a range of emerging anti-cancer therapies, including immunotherapies and RNA-based therapeutics. To date, certepetide has also demonstrated favorable safety, tolerability, and clinical activity in completed and ongoing clinical trials designed to test its ability to enhance the effectiveness of standard-of-care chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer. Lisata is exploring the potential of certepetide to enable a variety of treatment modalities to treat a range of solid tumors more effectively. Certepetide has been awarded Fast Track designation (US) and Orphan Drug Designation for pancreatic cancer (US and EU) as well as Orphan Drug Designation for glioma (US) and osteosarcoma (US). Additionally, certepetide has received Rare Pediatric Disease Designation for osteosarcoma (US).

Catalent, Inc. is a leading global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) whose mission is to develop, manufacture, and supply products that help people live better and healthier lives. Catalent is dedicated to delivering unparalleled service to pharma, biotech, and consumer health customers, supporting product development, launch, and full life-cycle supply. With time-tested experience in development sciences, delivery technologies, and multi-modality manufacturing, Catalent supports the acceleration of development programs and the launch of more than a hundred new products every year. Powered by thousands of scientists and technicians and the latest technology platforms at more than 40 global sites, Catalent supplies billions of doses of life-enhancing and life-saving treatments for patients annually. For more information, visit www.catalent.com.