Shire, Rani to develop oral factor VIII therapy

Shire and Rani Therapeutics have signed a deal to work on developing an orally-delivered therapy for patients with hemophilia A.

The companies have will exclusively conduct research on the use of Rani Pill technology for oral delivery of factor VIII (FVIII) therapy for patients with the bleeding condition.

The Rani Pill is a capsule that delivers an intestinal injection of a therapy without exposing it to digestive enzymes.

Oral delivery of factor therapy could reduce the chronic burden of hemophilia on patients’ everyday lives and transform standards of care, the companies note.

Under the deal, Shire has gained an exclusive option to negotiate a license to develop and commercialise the technology for delivery of FVIII therapy following completion of feasibility studies.

As part of the collaboration, Shire has also made an equity investment into Rani Therapeutics, but specific details weren’t revealed.

"With Shire’s in-depth scientific expertise and leadership position in hemophilia and Rani Therapeutics’ deep experience in engineering and material science, we are excited by the potential of this partnership to reduce the chronic burden of hemophilia on patients’ everyday lives by researching an oral option to deliver FVIII to patients," said Fritz Scheiflinger, head of Global Research at Shire.