MilliporeSigma, InnoCore team up on extended-release platform for large biologics

Merck KGaA’s U.S. life science arm, MilliporeSigma, will collaborate with InnoCore Pharmaceuticals to offer a drug delivery platform for sustained-release formulations for "virtually any class" of injectable biologic drug, using biodegradable polymers.

"Until now, formulating large biological active pharmaceutical ingredients such as proteins and large peptides into long-acting sustained release formulations has been difficult, if not impossible," MilliporeSigma’s head of process solutions, Andrew Bulpin, said in a statement.

"This collaboration will bring long-acting release of protein therapeutics to market, allowing new and potentially life-changing treatments. It will also improve patient compliance by reducing dosing frequency and maintaining drugs at therapeutic levels longer."

InnoCore’s proprietary SynBiosys delivery platform can be used locally or systemically, via subcutaneous, intramuscular or site-specific injections as microparticles or implants. MilliporeSigma plans to apply its global footprint to make the system available on a wider scale.

The SynBiosys platform encases the active ingredient in several monomers, forming a polymer matrix that swells up in an aqueous environment and gradually diffuses the drug into the body. It is currently used in diabetes, ophthalmology and oncology, as well as in cardiovascular, central nervous system and infectious diseases, InnoCore said.

Together, the two companies aim to support pharma and biotech customers with formulation, process development and manufacturing services for large peptides and proteins.

"We are very excited that we have been able to set up this important collaboration with MilliporeSigma, a company that is widely recognized in providing drug formulation solutions for the global life sciences industry," said Jan Hendriks, CEO of the Groningen, Netherlands-based InnoCore.

The new, large-molecule delivery capability complements MilliporeSigma’s existing portfolio of biodegradable polylactic acid and polylactic glycolic acid polymers, or PLA/PLGA, used in liquid or parenteral formulations for the sustained release of smaller molecules, hormones and peptides.

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