Once commercialised, both companies hope the technology will lead to products characterised by decreased dosing frequencies and increased drug efficacy.
PolyPEG represents a new generation of pegylating agents for conjugation to proteins, peptides and other biomolecules.
The attachment of PEG to therapeutic proteins or small molecules to enhance their delivery, for example by reducing the number of doses required, has traditionally been based on linear and branched structures, using polyether as the backbone of the polymer.
PolyPEG is different because it features a unique 'comb' structure, whereby the backbone is a methacrylic polymer and the teeth of the comb are PEG.
WEP's process grows the terminally functional polymer onto the active terminal initiator in a controlled way, permitting a wide range of structures and sizes to be produced.
"PolyPEG is better than the traditional pegylation technology because it does not have its limitations," WEP's chief technology officer, Professor David Haddleton, told In-Pharmatechnologist.com.
"However, we need Avanitum to optimize the process for each conjugate and commercialise it, and this is what they will do for us".
PEGylation has already been used to improve the delivery of interferons used in the treatment of hepatitis and drugs to support blood function in patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy, and is being evaluated for use with a number of experimental therapies.
However, PEGylation has been available for years, and the relatively low take-up of the technology reflects the fact that it can be difficult to bind PEG to the active molecule without limiting the latter's activity.
"We welcome this opportunity to collaborate with Warwick Effect Polymers," said Tom van Aken, Avantium's CEO.
"We see great potential in WEP's PolyPEG technology, because it can improve and prolong the performance of drug molecules. We believe that our partners and future customers can benefit significantly from the collaboration between WEP and Avantium to commercialize PolyPEG technology."
WEP believes that because the structure of its PolyPEG can be varied in three ways - by a choice of active end group; by the PEG chain length, determining the amount of PEG on each 'tooth'; or by the methacrylic spine which determines the 'length' of the comb - it represents a new generation of PEG that could overcome the limitations of its predecessors.
The PolyPEG range has been successfully conjugated to a range of model proteins including insulin, lysozyme, haemoglobin and calcitonin.