Molecular Partners and Orano Med Present Additional Positive Preclinical Data Supporting DLL3 Targeting Radio-DARPin Therapeutic Candidate MP0712 at EANM 2024

ZURICH-SCHLIEREN, Switzerland and CONCORD, Mass. and PARIS, Oct. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR – Molecular Partners AG (SIX: MOLN; NASDAQ: MOLN), a clinical-stage biotech company developing a new class of custom-built protein drugs known as DARPin therapeutics, and Orano Med, a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company developing targeted alpha therapies with lead-212 (212Pb), today announced the oral presentation of the latest preclinical data supporting MP0712 as a Radio-DARPin Therapeutic (RDT) at the European Assocation of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) Congress which runs October 19-23, 2024 in Hamburg, Germany. MP0712 is a co-developed 212Pb-labeled RDT candidate targeting delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3). Molecular Partners and Orano Med anticipate initiating first-in-human studies, pending regulatory clearance, in 2025. Initial clinical data of MP0712 is also anticipated in 2025.

“The latest data on MP0712, our DLL3 RDT co-developed with Orano Med, confirms the high tumor uptake in a model with matched target expression level to the human cancer setting, while keeping kidney exposure low. The additional in vivo efficacy and safety data further strengthen the momentum for our planned clinical entry next year, likely constituting the first DLL3-targeting 212Pb agent in development,” said Patrick Amstutz, Ph.D., CEO of Molecular Partners. “Together with our partner Orano Med, we’ve been able to kidney-stealth engineer our DARPins and add tumor uptake by half-life tuning to evolve our Radio-DARPin platform. These learnings are directly being applied to the next candidates in our RDT pipeline.”

“We are very pleased with the results of MP0712, to date. The homogeneous distribution observed through alpha camera imaging not only supports our DLL3 program but also highlights the promising potential of the collaboration between Molecular Partners and Orano Med. Their DARPin vectors are particularly well-suited for Targeted Alpha Therapy (TAT) with lead-212. By leveraging the expertise of both teams, we aim to build a robust platform and significantly shorten development timelines,” said Julien Torgue, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Orano Med.

Details of this Top-Rated Oral Presentation (TROP):

  • Presentation Title: Preclinical assessment of lead-212 (212Pb) Radio-DARPin Therapeutic (RDT) targeting delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3) in small cell lung cancer (SCLC)
  • Presentation Number: OP-535
  • Session Title: M2M Track – TROP Session: Radiopharmaceutical Sciences + Translational Molecular Imaging & Therapy Committee: From Radionuclide to Clinical Translation (session number: 1204)
  • Session Date, Timing & Location: 22 October 2024; 8:00-9:30 am CEST; Hall X1-X4

The presentation highlights that attractive tumor to kidney (T:K) ratios of >2 can be achieved in biodistribution studies across several models, including in a disseminated tumor model with clinically relevant DLL3 expression levels. This suggests strong uptake by the targeted tissue while minimally impacting healthy tissues. In addition, in vivo data indicated that tumor uptake was specific to DLL3.

Dose-range finding studies in mice confirmed that treatment at a clinically relevant dosage was well tolerated, supporting a favorable safety profile. Finally, MP0712 led to strong and dose-dependent efficacy in mice bearing established tumors with clinically-relevant levels of DLL3 expression and at a clinically-relevant dose, as compared to a positive control of a radiolabelled anti-DLL3 antibody rovalpituzumab (Rova).

DLL3 is a highly relevant target for radiopharmaceutical therapy due to its abundant expression in tumors of patients with small cell lung cancer (present in >85% of tumors) and other aggressive neuroendocrine tumors, while expression in healthy tissues is low. MP0712 has picomolar affinity and high specificity to human DLL3.

Molecular Partners is developing its RDT platform for targeted delivery of radioactive payloads to solid tumors. Due to their small size, high specificity and affinity, DARPins are well-suited as potential vectors for efficient delivery of therapeutic radionuclides. DARPins are also readily designed as multispecifics, making bi-specific (or larger) candidates a promising area of growth for Molecular Partner’s RDT portfolio as additional targeting may help address target heterogeneity in many tumors. The portfolio includes programs being developed in-house as well as via collaborations with Orano Med and Novartis.

The presentation given today will be made available on Molecular Partner’s website in the Scientific Documents section.

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