Starpharma to establish UK joint venture

Pharmaceutical company Starpharma is to establish a new UK based company called Petalion Therapeutics Limited in joint venture with life sciences investment firm Medicxi,.

Petalion will initially focus on developing novel targeted dendrimer-drug conjugate therapies in oncology, utilising Starpharma’s proprietary DEP dendrimer platform technology.

Medicxi will fund Petalion with an initial investment of up to $38 million to finance the development of a novel oncology drug candidate.

Starpharma will license intellectual property to Petalion as required for the research, development, manufacture and commercialisation of this potential new therapeutic and, in exchange, will receive an equity holding of 22.5 percent in Petalion.

CEO of Starpharma Cheryl Maley said: “We are excited to announce this strategic partnership, which combines Starpharma’s expertise in developing dendrimer technology with Medicxi’s success in converting development candidates into high-value commercial assets.

“If successful, the oncology therapies that Petalion will develop have the potential to become an important treatment modality for a potentially wide range of cancer indications.”

Under the terms of the collaboration, Starpharma will license the IP to Petalion on an exclusive basis for a mutually agreed target.

Medicxi intends to finance Petalion’s development programme via a tranched investment plan with defined scientific and technical milestones.

CEO of Petalion will be Dr Mehdi Shahidi, an experienced pharmaceutical executive who worked most recently as Corporate Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, and Global Head of Medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim.

Dr Shahidi said: “Leveraging Starpharma’s world-leading technology and the scientific domain expertise from Medicxi’s asset-centric investment platform, our team at Petalion aims to develop best-in-class dendrimer conjugates with differentiated properties.

“Our ultimate goal is to cultivate a targeted dendrimer-based drug that can effectively address unmet needs in cancer.”

Further reading:
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Picture: Starpharma