Orbis Medicines has announced a research collaboration and an option to an exclusive licence to Vivtex to support the development of next-generation orally dosable macrocycle drugs, known as nCycles.
The partnership will leverage the gastrointestinal robotic interface system (GI-ORIS) of Vivtex, designed to assess gut permeability, which is crucial for determining the oral bioavailability of Orbis' nCycles portfolio.
The collaboration will focus on the permeability screens of Orbis' nCycles - macrocycle drugs systematically created to be orally bioavailable and membrane permeable.
These features are historically significant challenges in drug design.
Orbis utilises its nGen platform to create thee compounds.
Orbis' pipeline comprises programmes targeting areas previously validated by successful biologic drugs.
The company aims to provide oral alternatives to these biologics, to aid in increasing the accessibility of treatment for a broader patient base.
Orbis managing director and chief development officer Simon Feldbæk stated: “This collaboration extends our ability to design for oral bioavailability into later stages of preclinical development with Vivtex’s extensively validated ex vivo porcine gut model, which is highly informative for human gut interactions.
“Our goal is faster development of the highest quality candidates possible for clinical entry as we work towards bringing a new generation of macrocycle drugs to patients.”
Vivtex's GI-ORIS platform enables the simulation of the entire gastrointestinal tract within a microwell plate.
This system allows for fully automated screening experiments, which can process thousands of samples daily — a task that takes years to complete without such technology.
Vivtex CEO Maureen Deehan stated: “We welcome this collaboration in the resurgent field of orally available macrocycles, which GI-ORIS is perfectly suited to supporting through its focus on providing developers with large-scale, physiologically relevant data at speed.
“The versatility of macrocyclic compounds points to a wide array of potential therapeutic applications if reliable oral bioavailability can be achieved, and Vivtex would be proud to play a role in delivering that potential new class of therapies to patients.”
