Press Releases
September 2024
Orbis Medicines and Vivtex Form Research & Exclusive Licensing Collaboration to Support Orbis Development of Next-Generation Orally Dosable ‘nCycles’
COPENHAGEN – September 17, 2024
Orbis’ platform first to systematically explore the macrocycle chemical space
Collaboration will unite Vivtex’s best-in-class oral bioavailability screening with Orbis’ leading platform for the discovery and development of oral macrocycles
Orbis Medicines, a leader in oral macrocycle drug discovery, today announced a research collaboration and option to an exclusive license with Vivtex, a biotech company aiming to transform the development of oral biologic therapies for major diseases. The collaboration will enable Orbis to utilize Vivtex’s GI-ORIS™ platform for gut permeability screening to evaluate the oral bioavailability of Orbis’ portfolio of next-generation macrocycle drugs it calls ‘nCycles’.
“This collaboration extends our ability to design for oral bioavailability into later stages of preclinical development with Vivtex’s extensively validated ex vivo porcine gut model, which is highly informative for human gut interactions. Our goal is faster development of the highest quality candidates possible for clinical entry as we work towards bringing a new generation of macrocycle drugs to patients,” said Simon Feldbæk, Managing Director and Chief Development Officer at Orbis.
Under the agreement, the companies will collaborate on permeability screens of Orbis’ nCycles. nCycles are systematically designed by Orbis’ “nGen” platform to be orally bioavailable and membrane permeable, both decades-long challenges in macrocycle drug design. The Orbis pipeline includes programs against targets validated by blockbuster biologic drugs, with the goal of providing oral alternatives that will enable the treatment of many more patients.
“We welcome this collaboration in the resurgent field of orally available macrocycles, which GI-ORIS™ is perfectly suited to supporting through its focus on providing developers with large-scale, physiologically relevant data at speed,” said Maureen Deehan, CEO of Vivtex. “The versatility of macrocyclic compounds points to a wide array of potential therapeutic applications if reliable oral bioavailability can be achieved, and Vivtex would be proud to play a role in delivering that potential new class of therapies to patients.”
Vivtex’s proprietary platform, called the gastrointestinal robotic interface system (GI-ORIS™), enables researchers to capture the entire complexity of the GI tract in a microwell plate that can be used for fully automated screening experiments. This enables the testing of thousands of samples in a single day, which would take multiple years without the technology.
About Orbis Medicines
Orbis Medicines is a biotechnology company focused on pioneering a new era for oral macrocycle drug discovery. Macrocycles are a large and diverse family of compounds with highly desirable therapeutic properties. Orbis’ nGen platform is designed to systematically explore the macrocycle chemical space using a highly automated chemistry platform and deliver oral macrocycle drug candidates – nCycles – suitable for both intra- and extracellular targets. Orbis’ programs are focused on high-value oral alternatives to blockbuster biologic drugs and targets challenging for established modalities. Orbis was founded by Novo Holdings. For more information, please visit: www.orbismedicines.com
About nGen
nGen is Orbis’ technology platform for generating oral macrocycle drug candidates, which it calls nCycles. It consists of multiple proprietary integrated elements starting with hit finding libraries of 100 billion compounds. Hits identified are progressed using Orbis’ highly automated chemistry-based platform that rapidly creates and tests hundreds of thousands of individual analogues with a full suite of assays to identify the most desirable ones. The scale and quality of the data produced from these real compounds, paired with machine learning, creates an industry-leading platform that de-risks and accelerates development. Recently published research in Nature Chemical Biology demonstrates nGen’s ability to deliver nCycles that are orally bioavailable, marking a new era for macrocycle drug discovery.
About Vivtex Corporation
Vivtex was launched as a spin out from the labs of Robert Langer (MIT) and Giovanni Traverso (MIT, Harvard Medical School). The company, located in Cambridge, MA, USA and Schlieren, Switzerland, is focused on transforming the market for biologic therapies through the development of novel oral biologics including enhanced, oral versions of existing high-value biologic candidates that can only be administered by injection or infusion.
To achieve its mission, Vivtex is leveraging its proprietary and extensively validated high-throughput GI-ORIS™ screening, formulation and AI-enabling platform (Nat. Biomed. Eng. 4, 544–559: 2020) through strategic partnerships and R&D collaborations with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
To find out more about Vivtex, please visit: www.vivtex.com.
Media:
Rhiannon Jeselonis
Ten Bridge Communications
978-417-1946
rhiannon@tenbridgecommunications.com
September 2024
Vivtex Enters New Research Agreement with Equillium to Develop GI-targeted Formulations for its First-in-Class Oral, Bi-Specific Peptide Therapy
Cambridge, MA, USA and Schlieren, Switzerland – September 16, 2024.
- Vivtex to apply its GI-ORIS™ technology to optimize oral bioavailability of EQ302, Equillium’s novel IL-15/IL-21 bi-specific peptide therapy
- Equillium targeting initiation of Phase 1 study investigating EQ302 in 2H 2025
Vivtex Corporation (“Vivtex” or “the Company”), a biotech company aiming to transform the development of oral biologic therapies for major diseases, announces that it has entered a research and licensing agreement with Equillium, Inc. (“Equillium”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics to treat severe autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.
The research collaboration is focused on the application of Vivtex’s unique and proprietary AI-enabled GI-ORIS™ screening and formulation platform technology to develop an optimized oral version of Equillium’s EQ302, a first-in-class bi-specific peptide inhibitor of IL-15 and IL-21 in development for the treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) inflammation. Under the agreement, Equillium has the option to enter into a license agreement under which Vivtex may be eligible for royalties and other payments. No financial terms are disclosed.
EQ302 inhibits IL-15 and IL-21, two cytokines important in the pathophysiology of a range of GI disorders, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Celiac Disease and Eosinophilic Esophagitis. An optimized GI-targeted, oral formulation of EQ302 has the potential to revolutionize treatment options for patients suffering with GI disorders by combining a strong anti-inflammatory effect with improved convenience and patient compliance compared to current biologic therapies. Equillium is targeting a first-in-human Phase 1 trial to begin in 2H 2025.
With a growing number of biotech and pharma collaborations, Vivtex is emerging as a leader in oral biologics delivery and has successfully delivered on multiple internal and external therapeutic programs. Vivtex’s technology has the ability to improve the oral bioavailability of peptides multiple fold beyond what current technologies can accomplish and is providing peptide drug developers with renewed hope to create oral therapeutics.
Maureen Deehan, CEO of Vivtex, commented: “This collaboration with Equillium expands our portfolio of projects and speaks to the strength and potential of our GI-ORIS™ technology. Together, we are redefining what is possible with orally available peptides and are confident that this partnership will accelerate efforts to offer more effective, accessible, and less burdensome treatment options to patients.”
“This partnership underscores our confidence in Vivtex’s ability to model complex gastrointestinal environments and provide critical insights to advance the development of EQ302 for oral delivery,” said Stephen Connelly, Chief Scientific Officer at Equillium.
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About Vivtex Corporation
Vivtex was launched as a spin out from the labs of Robert Langer (MIT) and Giovanni Traverso (MIT, Harvard Medical School). The company is focused on transforming the market for biologic therapies through the development of novel oral biologics including enhanced, oral versions of existing high-value biologic candidates that can only be administered by injection or infusion.
To achieve its mission, Vivtex is leveraging its proprietary and extensively validated AI-enabled high-throughput GI-ORIS™ screening and formulation platform through strategic partnerships and R&D collaborations with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
To find out more about Vivtex, please visit our website: www.vivtex.com and LinkedIn.
About Equillium
Equillium is a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging a deep understanding of immunobiology to develop novel therapeutics to treat severe autoimmune and inflammatory disorders with high unmet medical need. The company’s pipeline consists of the following novel first-in-class immunomodulatory assets and product platform targeting immuno-inflammatory pathways. EQ101 is a selective tri-specific cytokine inhibitor targeting IL-2, IL-9, and IL-15 being developed for dermatological conditions, and EQ302 is an orally delivered, selective bi-specific cytokine inhibitor targeting IL-15 and IL-21 being developed for gastrointestinal conditions. The multi-cytokine platform generates rationally designed composite peptides. Itolizumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets the CD6-ALCAM signaling pathway, is in a Phase 3 clinical study of patients with acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) and exhibited positive results in a completed Phase 1b clinical study of patients with lupus/lupus nephritis in April 2024.
For more information, visit www.equilliumbio.com.
Contacts:
Vivtex
Maureen Deehan, CEO
mdeehan@vivtex.com
MEDiSTRAVA (for international media)
Mark Swallow, Sandi Greenwood, Leila Adlam
Vivtex@medistrava.com
Equillium
Michael Moore
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
+1 619-302-4431
ir@equilliumbio.com
March 2024
GI-ORIS used to identify drugs that should not be taken in combination.
https://news.mit.edu/2024/new-model-identifies-drugs-shouldnt-be-taken-together-0220
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-023-01128-9
January 2024
Vivtex Enters Research Collaboration with Astellas Pharma
Cambridge, MA, USA and Zurich, Switzerland – 23rd January 2024.
Vivtex Corporation (“Vivtex” or “the Company”), a biotech company aiming to transform the development of oral biologic therapies for major diseases, announces that it has entered a research collaboration with Astellas Pharma Inc. (“Astellas”), a global pharmaceutical company.
The collaboration is focused on the evaluation of Vivtex’s unique and proprietary GI-ORIS™ (“Gut on a chip” and AI) screening and formulation platform technology to support the development of novel, oral versions of a therapeutic candidate provided by Astellas.
Maureen Deehan, CEO of Vivtex, commented: “We are delighted to enter this new collaboration with Astellas Pharma. Over the past few years, Vivtex has worked productively with multiple leading pharma and biotech companies to apply its GI-ORIS™ platform to the challenge of improving drug oral bioavailability and thereby creating valuable new product opportunities and potential benefits to patients.”
Vivtex scientists demonstrated the ability and potential of the GI-ORIS™ platform to expedite the development of new orally available biologic drugs in a 2020 study published in Nature Biomedical Engineering (ref.1). The study showed how GI-ORIS™ can be applied to accurately model (with near-perfect predictability) the absorption of drug molecules in the small intestine, enabling Vivtex to develop novel oral formulations and delivery methodologies, previously not possible for biologic medicines based on the limitations of available technologies. Vivtex has secured a worldwide, exclusive license from MIT for this foundational technology and its applications for the development of novel oral biologic therapies.
Reference
- von Erlach, T., Saxton, S., Shi, Y. et al. Robotically handled whole-tissue culture system for the screening of oral drug formulations. Nat. Biomed. Eng. 4, 544–559 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-020-0545-6
About Vivtex Corporation
Vivtex was launched as a spin out from the labs of Robert Langer (MIT) and Giovanni Traverso (MIT, Harvard University). The company is focused on transforming the market for biologic therapies through the development of novel oral biologics including enhanced, oral versions of existing high-value biologic candidates that can only be administered by injection or infusion.
To achieve its mission, Vivtex is leveraging its proprietary and extensively validated high-throughput GI-ORIS™ (“Gut on a chip” and AI) screening and formulation platform (Nat. Biomed. Eng. 4, 544–559: 2020) through strategic co-development partnerships and R&D collaborations with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
To find out more about Vivtex, please visit our website: www.vivtex.com and LinkedIn.
Contacts:
Vivtex
Maureen Deehan, CEO
MEDiSTRAVA Consulting (for international media)
Mark Swallow, Sandi Greenwood, Leila Adlam
January 2024
Vivtex and AI Proteins Enter Strategic R&D Collaboration to Develop Novel, Oral Biologic Therapies for Inflammatory Diseases
Cambridge/Boston, MA, USA – 18th January 2024.
Vivtex Corporation (“Vivtex”), a biotech company aiming to transform the development of oral biologic therapies for major diseases, and AI Proteins, Inc., a growing biotechnology company that utilizes computational de novo protein design to create novel therapeutic miniproteins, today announced they have entered a strategic R&D collaboration to develop novel, oral biologic therapies for inflammatory diseases.
The partners will leverage Vivtex’s proprietary and extensively validated GI-ORIS™ (“Gut on a chip” and AI) screening and formulation platform technology to evaluate and enhance the oral bioavailability of AI Proteins’ miniproteins designed to target and inhibit the activity of the TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1). Under the agreement, the companies will jointly conduct and share the costs of the program and will co-own any resulting data. No further financial details are disclosed.
Preventing inflammation by inhibiting TNF-alpha (tumor necrosis factor alpha) signaling is a highly validated approach and the mechanism of action of multiple approved biologic products that generate multi-billion-dollar revenues each year. There are multiple receptors for TNF-alpha and inhibition of TNFR1, which is responsible for mediating pro-inflammatory signaling activity, has the potential to be a safe and highly effective target for inhibiting this clinically important pathway. There are no FDA approved therapeutics that inhibit TNFR1, with several companies having tried and failed. AI Proteins’ de novo design process provides complete control over miniprotein properties and activity allowing them to achieve remarkable potency and novel receptor engagement to successfully drug TNFR1. With current TNF-alpha pathway inhibitors being injectables, there is a major opportunity to develop oral anti-inflammatory medicines with differentiated best-in-class safety and efficacy.
Maureen Deehan, CEO of Vivtex, commented “A key element of our new and evolved strategy is to enter collaborations with innovative companies where we can bring together our respective and cutting-edge technologies to create and co-develop novel therapeutic candidates that have the potential to address significant delivery and bioavailability challenges – in this case, an oral TNFR1 inhibitor to treat inflammatory diseases. AI Proteins’ miniprotein technology combined with our own GI-ORIS™ technology presents an opportunity to develop and bring a completely new oral anti-inflammatory medicine to patients, making this highly effective modality available to a much larger patient population.”
Noah D. Beerman, CEO of AI Proteins, added: “At AI Proteins, we are proud of the bold and dynamic science supporting our de novo miniprotein technology platform, which has the potential to make a profound impact on the development of novel medicines across multiple therapeutic spaces. To date, we have focused on designing our miniproteins to achieve ideal therapeutic characteristics and have now validated hits for over 100 targets. This collaboration aims to combine promising features of our powerful miniprotein platform and Vivtex’s transformational oral biologics platform to develop anti-inflammatory therapeutics.”
About Vivtex Corporation
Vivtex was launched as a spin out from the labs of Robert Langer (MIT) and Giovanni Traverso (MIT, Harvard University). The company is focused on transforming the market for biologic therapies through the development of novel oral biologics including enhanced, oral versions of existing high-value biologic candidates that can only be administered by injection or infusion.
To achieve its mission, Vivtex is leveraging its proprietary and extensively validated high-throughput GI-ORIS™ (“Gut on a chip” and AI) screening and formulation platform (Nat. Biomed. Eng. 4, 544–559: 2020) through strategic co-development partnerships and R&D collaborations with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
To find out more about Vivtex, please visit our website: www.vivtex.com and LinkedIn.
About AI Proteins
Boston-based AI Proteins is a biotech company on a mission to re-imagine protein therapeutics with a novel approach for designing entirely new proteins. Using AI-based design and a high-throughput drug discovery platform, AI Proteins creates de novo proteins optimized for specific therapeutic applications with a current focus on inflammation, metabolic diseases, and oncology. The AI Proteins platform enables the development of inexpensive, durable, highly specific proteins that have the potential for oral delivery. Additionally, the AI Proteins platform can dramatically accelerate the development of lead therapeutic candidates ready for IND-enabling studies.
For more information, please go to aiproteins.bio
Contacts:
Vivtex
Maureen Deehan, CEO
MEDiSTRAVA Consulting (for Vivtex)
Mark Swallow, Sandi Greenwood, Leila Adlam
Stern Investor Relations, Inc. (for AI Proteins)
Janhavi Mohite
Vivtex announces the promotion of Maureen Deehan to Chief Executive Officer. She joined Vivtex in December 2022 as the Chief Business & Operating Officer. Dr. Deehan is a biotechnology and pharmaceutical professional with 22 years of drug development and commercialization experience.