OctoPlus in-licenses diabetes product candidate

Drug delivery and development company OctoPlus has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialise a family of compounds, including a GLP-1 agonist product candidate for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

OctoPlus has acquired the rights from Canadian biopharmaceutical company Theratechnologies and aims to develop a long-acting controlled release formulation that may substantially reduce the required dosing frequency in diabetes therapy, compared to current products on the market or in development.

OctoPlus has initiated pre-clinical development of this product.

GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1) is a metabolic hormone that plays a central role in glucose handling. Various drug development efforts are directed towards its potential therapeutic benefit in diabetes treatment, and the only currently available GLP-1 based therapy requires twice-daily injections.

OctoPlus' controlled release technology platform comprises polymer-based drug delivery technologies that can be combined with active pharmaceutical ingredients to gradually release the therapeutic in the body during weeks or months.

In July, OctoPlus showed its leading role in controlled release delivery of proteins and peptides with the publication of promising results from an ongoing Phase IIa study with its lead product Locteron, a controlled release formulation of interferon alfa for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. OctoPlus' controlled release technology in Locteron shows its potential to induce fewer side effects, improve patient compliance and provide more convenient once-every-two-week dosing in comparison to current therapies, and with similar efficacy.

Joost Holthuis, chief executive officer of OctoPlus, said: "We are delighted to expand our product portfolio with the addition of this promising GLP-1 agonist product candidate in a major therapeutic area.

We are fully committed to successfully developing a truly long-acting formulation of this product, which continues to be an unmet need in diabetes therapy.

"Our recent success with Locteron gives us confidence that we will be able to apply our extensive controlled release experience to GLP-1 based molecules."

Diabetes is a worldwide health issue: the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 180 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes and projects that the number of deaths caused by diabetes will increase by more than 50% in the next 10 years if urgent action is not taken. Recent market reports estimate that global sales of anti-diabetics will exceed US$ 22bn (Euro 16bn) in 2011.