3M gets Radius Health deal extension
The exclusive agreement will see 3M provide development and commercialisation support if the drug – a peptide analog of human parathyroid hormone-related protein named BA058 – successfully completes clinical development and is approved.
The delivery technology firm has been working on the project since 2011 when Radius selected its microstructured transdermal microneedle patch as the drug administration method for clinical trials.
BA058 entered Phase II trials in October last year with 3M also providing the delivery technology for the study.
The new deal extension – financial terms of which were not disclosed – confirms 3M’s involvement through to commercilisation.
Radius CEO Michael Wyzga set the new agreement in the context of the results seen so far, explaining that: “Data for BA058-TD showed that a five-minute wear time of the patch delivers peak drug levels consistent with subcutaneous injection and we hope to see increased patient compliance with 3M's innovative technology."
Ingrid Blair from 3m’s MTS/TDD business was equally positive about the ongoing collaboration.
"We are pleased to be part of Radius' mission of advancing therapeutics for healthy aging with its deep expertise in osteoporosis," she said, adding that “we believe this new drug potentially will improve the health of patients with severe osteoporosis and that 3M's microneedle patch technology may improve medication compliance among patients."
News of the extended agreement follows just weeks after rival osteoporosis drug developer Unigene reported that its product – an oral parathyroid hormone analog – increased bone mineral density in women involved in a Phase II trial.
The Unigene drug uses the firm’s own peptelligence platform, which along with the 3M system, MicroChips’ implantable pump and Zosano Pharma’s delivery patch, is one of four platforms being assessed as an alternative to injection for osteoporosis medication delivery.
