On September 12, 2023 Molecular Partners AG (SIX: MOLN; NASDAQ: MOLN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of custom-built protein drugs known as DARPin therapeutics ("Molecular Partners" or the "Company"), reported new data from its Radio-DARPin Therapy (RDT) platform pertaining to potential efficacy of the approach and building on prior engineering achievements that boosted its renal safety profile (Press release, Molecular Partners, SEP 12, 2023, View Source [SID1234635112]). These data will be presented at the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) Annual Meeting, held September 9–13 in Vienna, Austria and can be accessed here.

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The data show the ability of Molecular Partners to substantially increase tumor uptake of RDT candidates through an adjustment of systemic half-life, achieved by binding to the common blood protein serum albumin. These results build on preclinical data, previously reported at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) and SNNMI in 2023, demonstrating how DARPin engineering can achieve a marked reduction of candidate reabsorption by the kidney, addressing a key challenge for protein-based radionuclide delivery vectors.

"We have previously discussed what is required for the successful expansion of DARPins as a targeting moiety for radiotherapy, including protection of kidneys, tumor accumulation, and the ability to apply these learnings broadly across the platform. With today’s data we show that tuning of half-life can substantially impact the tumor uptake of our Radio DARPins," said Patrick Amstutz, Ph.D., CEO of Molecular Partners. "Importantly, we are highly encouraged by the data showing that these techniques can be applied across the platform and utilized as we explore multiple targets in the field, including novel targets potentially less amenable to other approaches."

In summary, the presented results highlight that a desirable tumor to kidney ratio can be achieved for RDTs while also keeping circulating blood levels low to further support a robust efficacy-to-safety profile. The engineering solutions applied to optimize the properties of the RDT platform are transferrable to different tumor-associated antigens. These results present a unique opportunity to explore new targets of interest and thereby potentially further expand the target space for radioligand therapy.

Molecular Partners continues to progress its RDT platform and portfolio of projects, both in-house and in partnership with Novartis. The tumor-associated protein Delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3) has been selected as one of the first targets of Molecular Partners’ proprietary RDT program.

The presentation details are as follows:

Title: DARPin platform for the development of powerful targeting agents for radioligand therapy
Session Title: M2M Track – TROP Session: New Therapeutic Radiopharmaceuticals
Session Number: 1804
Abstract Number: OP-897
Session Location & Timing: Hall E2; Sept 13, 2023; 9:45–11:15 am local time (CEST)
Order in Session: 3
Presentation Time: 10:05–10:15 am local time (CEST)