ProLynx announces SBIR grant award to develop novel technology for dual receptor agonists

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 25, 2017 -- Today, ProLynx announced it was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the NIH to expand its technology platform to control delivery of two or more drugs in a single agent. In the ProLynx platform, a drug is tethered to hydrogel microspheres by a self-cleaving linker that is pre-programmed to release the drug at a pre-determined rate. After subcutaneous injection, the drug is slowly released from the microsphere carrier into the systemic circulation. Since the half-life of the released drug is solely dictated by the cleavage rate of the linker used, if two different drugs are attached to the same carrier by the same linker, the in vivo half-lives of the two drugs released will be the same. The relative potencies of each drug are controlled by the relative amounts of each drug attached to the carrier.

Daniel Santi, cofounder, stated, “We will first develop this technology with a combination of our long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist plus a glucagon or GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide) receptor agonist. If successful, we will have a rapid and impactful entry into the competitive area aimed at dual agonist anti-obesity drugs targeting type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease/NASH.” Santi added: “Since amounts of the two drugs released are simply controlled by the amounts attached to the carrier, we have a simple, flexible and effective way to discover and produce dual-agonist combination drugs with balanced activities. By facilitating determination of the optimal ratio of agonists, the approach sharply contrasts with the technically challenging incorporation of two perfectly balanced agonist activities into the same peptide.” William J. Rutter, Chairman of the ProLynx Board, commented, “The novel ProLynx dual agonist approach could become a preferred mode for delivery of combination peptidic therapeutics.”

About ProLynx: ProLynx LLC is a privately held biotechnology company located in San Francisco, CA, developing proprietary drug delivery systems for half-life extension of small molecules, peptides and proteins. The company applies its technology to extend half-lives of drug candidates of pharmaceutical companies, and to improve properties of off-patent therapeutics. ProLynx has a monthly GLP-1 receptor agonist and a subcutaneous long-acting octreotide in its pre-clinical portfolio, and a PEG~SN38 in Phase 1 clinical trials. Further information about the company may be found at www.ProLynxllc.com.

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