Therapy Areas: Inflammatory Diseases
Ligand Invests USD 3m in Dianomi Therapeutics
5 February 2019 - - US-based Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: LGND) has closed an investment in Dianomi Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the delivery and efficacy of large and small molecules in the treatment of a range of diseases and on therapies for inflammatory diseases, such as osteoarthritis and pain, the company said.

Ligand paid a total of USD 3m to Dianomi in exchange for a tiered royalty of two or 3% based on level of net sales for the first five products to be approved using Dianomi's patented Mineral Coated Microparticle technology and a loan convertible into USD 1m of equity at the next qualified financing.

Ligand will provide technical and scientific advisory assistance to Dianomi for one year. Ligand said it will not incur any expenses to develop or commercialize any MCM programmes.

The MCM technology is a patented formulation technology designed to improve dosing and patient compliance, safety and efficacy and/or extended product life of biologics and small molecules.

Traditional drug delivery systems can often deliver biologics but struggle with maintaining protein activity during treatment.

The MCM technology mimics the ability of human bones and teeth to store and protect biologics, and provides greatly improved, sustained release delivery of active biologics.

MCM was developed in the laboratory of William Murphy, PhD, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, and was patented under the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation with issued patent coverage through 2037.

Dianomi's initial focus will be on creating novel formulations of existing drugs in the osteoarthritis and pain space.

Mineral Coated Microparticle technology is a platform designed to mimic the natural properties of mineralized tissues (e.g. bones, teeth) for preservation and controlled release of drug molecules without loss of function.

Artificial polymers have traditionally been used to encapsulate drugs for local sustained administration; however this approach disrupts both the structure and function of the drug.

MCM technology overcomes this limitation by providing a matrix that naturally stabilizes the drug, which then elutes in a controlled manner as the coating dissolves.

The MCM particle and coating are manufactured from generally recognised as safe materials in a scalable process, with properties that can be tailored to the drug and its intended application.

Dianomi Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on optimizing the therapeutic profile of proven biologics to improve patient dosing, safety, and efficacy.

The company is advancing a pipeline of next-generation treatments for inflammatory diseases, targeting osteoarthritis and pain.

The company's proprietary Mineral Coated Microparticle technology mimics the ability of human bones and teeth to store and protect biologics, and provides greatly improved, sustained release delivery of active biologics.

Barry Kurokawa, Dianomi's chief executive officer and co-founder, has been a biotech fund manager, including serving as a senior portfolio manager at Invesco, for over 25 years.

He has served on the boards of directors of several private and public healthcare companies and currently is a board member of Eirion Therapeutics, Inc. William Murphy, Ph.D., is Dianomi's chief scientific officer and co-founder, and is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

He has published more than 170 scientific manuscripts, filed over 50 patents and co-founded several start-up companies.

Ligand is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing or acquiring technologies that help pharmaceutical companies discover and develop medicines.

Its business model creates value for stockholders by providing a portfolio of biotech and pharmaceutical product revenue streams that are supported by an efficient and low corporate cost structure.

Ligand's Captisol platform technology is a patent-protected, chemically modified cyclodextrin with a structure designed to optimize the solubility and stability of drugs.

OmniAb is a patent-protected transgenic animal platform used in the discovery of fully human mono-and bispecific therapeutic antibodies.

Ligand has established multiple alliances, licenses and other business relationships with the world's leading pharmaceutical companies including Novartis, Amgen, Merck, Pfizer, Celgene, Gilead, Janssen, Baxter International and Eli Lilly.
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