On February 26 Molecular Partners AG (SIX: MOLN; NASDAQ: MOLN), a clinical-stage biotech company developing a novel class of custom-built protein drugs known as DARPin therapeutics ("Molecular Partners" or the "Company"), reported it has entered into an agreement with Eckert & Ziegler, leading specialist in isotope-related components for nuclear medicine and radiation therapy, to enable the development and manufacturing of Radio-DARPin therapeutics.
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"We are pleased to work with Eckert & Ziegler, a global leader in radiopharmaceutical manufacturing. This agreement will expand the potential of Radio-DARPins as vectors for precise delivery of therapeutic alpha-emitting isotopes to tumors, now including Actinium-225, in addition to Lead-212 through our long-term strategic partnership with Orano Med," said Alexander Zürcher, COO of Molecular Partners. He added: "The promise of Radio-DARPins is underlined by the progress of our lead candidate MP0712, targeting DLL3, having just opened the Phase 1/2a trial for the treatment of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC)".
Under the non-exclusive agreement, Eckert & Ziegler will support Molecular Partners with a comprehensive range of services covering development activities for Radio-DARPins with Actinium-225 (225Ac) and Lutetium-177 (177Lu) payloads. The development agreement will leverage Eckert & Ziegler’s state-of-the-art laboratories, including its newly established Alpha Laboratory in Berlin, Germany, dedicated exclusively to work with alpha emitters.
For its growing Radio-DARPin pipeline, Molecular Partners is evaluating various radio-nuclides to tailor Radio-DARPin candidates to patient needs – matching vector and isotope properties with target and disease biology. The Company plans to present pre-clinical data on Radio-DARPins’ suitability with multiple isotopes at the 3rd Global Radiopharmaceuticals Development Summit in March 2026 in Shanghai, China.
Eckert & Ziegler is a globally leading specialist for isotope-related components in nuclear medicine and radiation therapy, offering a broad range of services and products from early development work to contract manufacturing and distribution.
"Supporting highly innovative companies such as Molecular Partners in developing their promising technology platforms is a key objective of our group," said Dr. Harald Hasselmann, CEO of Eckert & Ziegler. "Bringing together our expertise in isotopes, radiochemistry and development infrastructure with our partners’ innovations will enable patients worldwide to benefit from new treatments in the future."
About Radio-DARPins
Molecular Partners’ Radio-DARPins are designed as ideal vectors for precise delivery of potent alpha-emitting isotopes to tumor lesions and have the potential to unlock a broad range of tumor targets for targeted radiopharmaceuticals. Building on the DARPins’ unique properties, Molecular Partners has developed a proprietary Radio-DARPin platform to address historic limitations of radioligand therapy, such as kidney accumulation and toxicity, and suboptimal tumor uptake. Molecular Partners’ Radio-DARPins addresses these limitations through half-life extension technologies and surface engineering approaches, while preserving the advantages of the small protein format.
(Press release, Molecular Partners, FEB 26, 2026, View Source [SID1234663009])