Gilead and Lyndra co-develop long-acting HIV therapies

11-Jul-2019 - Last updated on 11-Jul-2019 at 13:52 GMT

(Image: Getty/Marchmeena29)

Following Gilead’s funding of Lyndra’s technology, the latter company offers exclusive rights to its therapeutics platform for long-acting HIV therapies formulations.

The partnership between the two companies began when Gilead Sciences joined Lyndra Therapeutics' $55m (€49m) Series B financing round in January 2019, along with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other organisations.

The two companies have now announced a collaboration, under which they will work together to develop and commercialize oral HIV therapies, with Gilead gaining exclusive rights to Lyndra’s therapeutics platform for long-acting formulations.

Speaking about “potential strategies for long-acting regimens that would reduce pill burden”, Gilead’s CSO, John McHutchison said that “this early partnership is the latest step in our ongoing investment in HIV research and development.”

Lyndra’s star-shaped pill

Lyndra Therapeutics, a Massachusetts, US-based MIT spin-out, has designed a capsule in a star-shaped formulation, which opens once inside the stomach, releasing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) consistently over time before exiting via the gastrointestinal tract.

This orally administered dosage form aims to deliver sustained, steady-state release of one or more drugs for up to a week or longer while temporarily residing in the stomach.

By turning daily treatments into weekly or monthly doses, the formulation is expected to reduce side-effects and healthcare costs while improving medication adherence and drug efficacy.