"2-FOR-1!" Merck AND Lilly Ink Peptide Drug Conjugate Discovery/Licensing Deals -- With PeptiDream, This Morning...

It has truly been a banner year for Japan's PeptiDream -- headquartered out of Kanagawa, the public biotech house now has multi-candidate collaborations with several of the multinational old-line giants in the pharma space.

Using peptides as an en-vivo vehicle for therapeutics delivery shows much promise, in potential oncology and auto-immune treatments, thus Merck's, and Lilly's interest, respectively.

While each agreement in in the low hundreds of millions, upfront -- a relative pittance, by pharma standards -- each may lead to multi-billion dollar payments, if all milestones are hit. In any event, here's the latest (from the Merck version; Lilly version here):

. . .PeptiDream Inc., a public Kanagawa, Japan-based biopharmaceutical company. . . today announced a new multi-target collaboration and license Agreement with U.S.-based Merck & Co, Inc., Rahway, N.J., U.S.A., known as “MSD” outside the U.S. and Canada, through a subsidiary, focused on the discovery and development of novel peptide drug conjugates (“PDCs”).

Under the agreement, PeptiDream will provide peptide candidates identified from PeptiDream’s proprietary Peptide Discovery Platform System (“PDPS”) technology for use as PDCs against targets of interest to MSD. MSD will have exclusive rights to the peptide candidates for conjugation to cytotoxic payloads and will be responsible for all development aspects of any PDC products arising from the collaboration. . . .

Now you know. . . though the getaway has been wonderful so far, my middle guy may remain trapped in Sacramento, by work obligations, and unable to make it into the desert heat, even after the new year. Sorta' sad, but we shall see -- maybe just for part of the coming weekend, so he can see his brother and sister. . . and get some hiking in. Smile. . . .

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