Molecular Partners AG and Orano Med have announced a collaboration to develop novel Radio-DARPin therapeutics (RDTs) that use Orano Med's 212Pb radioisotope as a payload to selectively kill cancer cells. Both companies will leverage their unique capabilities to enable rapid clinical development and agree to share costs for preclinical and clinical development for multiple oncology targets, the first of which is DLL3. The partnership is based upon strong preclinical data supporting a highly differentiated profile for 212Pb-based RDTs.

Besides strong binding to target proteins and selective delivery of radioactive payloads, these data have also indicated the ability of RDTs to minimize kidney damage often associated with protein-based radioligand therapies while maintaining high tumor uptake. This agreement represents the first co-development deal for Molecular Partners and Orano Med. Both companies are developing additional radioligand therapy candidates in partnership with other companies, with Molecular Partners having announced its first collaboration with Novartis in December 2021.Under the terms of the co-development agreement, Molecular Partner?s previously disclosed RDT target DLL3 (delta-like ligand 3) will be included in the partnership with Orano Med.

Expression of DLL3 is low in healthy tissue but significantly increased in certain tumor types, such as small-cell lung cancer, providing an opportunity for selective tumor-targeting. DLL3 will be exclusively developed by Molecular Partners and Orano Med as a RDT target. Molecular Partners will maintain the option to explore DLL3 for targeted therapy outside of the radiotherapy space.

Both companies commit to sharing the cost of preclinical and clinical development with additional commitments to supply of their respective materials. Additional agreements are being put in place for future development and commercialization of any potential programs that proceed into the clinical stage of development.