Amylin Collaborates with Biocon

Yesterday, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMLN) entered into an exclusive agreement with Indian biotech company Biocon Limited for the development, commercialization and manufacture of a novel peptide therapeutic for the potential treatment of diabetes.

This agreement should ensure the optimum utilization of the synergistic capabilities of both the companies. Both companies have a strong focus on the development of treatments for diabetes.

While Amylin's "phybrid" technology will be used for the development of the candidate, Biocon will use its know-how in recombinant microbial expression to manufacture the compound.

A phybrid is a peptide hybrid molecule that combines the pharmacological effects of two peptide hormones into a single molecular entity. As per the terms of the agreement, development costs will be shared by the companies. Other details were not provided.

The identification of a peptide therapeutic should help Amylin expand its diabetes product portfolio. The company already has a presence in the diabetes market with two products, Symlin and Byetta, being marketed for the treatment of diabetes. Besides these two, Amylin is currently seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for a third product, exenatide LAR, which is a sustained release formulation of Byetta.

The diabetes market is huge and provides significant commercial opportunity. Diabetes is a major worldwide health problem and is the fifth leading cause of death by disease in the United States. It is estimated that over 240 million people worldwide have diabetes. In the U.S. alone, there are approximately 23.6 million people with diabetes.

Amylin has collaborative agreements with Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) and Alkermes, Inc. (ALKS) for exenatide LAR. The company’s primary competitors in the diabetes market include Merck (MRK), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and Novartis (NVS).

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