Belrose Pharma picked up a pair of next-gen delivery platforms developed by Enzon Pharmaceutical for injectable and sustained-release drugs, a technology that will help Belrose treat diseases such as breast cancer, pediatric neuroblastoma and hereditary angioedema (HAE).
For an undisclosed amount, the Princeton, NJ-based Belrose added to its portfolio Enzon's PEGylation Linker Technology, which links polyethylene glycol (PEG) to certain compounds to improve the delivery of drugs, allowing faster development of Belrose's biologic and small-molecule therapies and better patient outcomes, according to a release.
Belrose will take over the development of two of Enzon's programs: PEG-SN38, a conjugate of the cancer treatment SN38, which is ready for Phase III trials, and PEG-C1 Esterase Inhibitor, a preclinical orphan drug that would improve the treatment of HAE by allowing more injections.
"This acquisition of Enzon's permanent and releasable Customized Linker Technology significantly strengthens our platform for accelerating the development of more patient-friendly and effective therapies in a range of specialty disease categories," said Belrose CEO Eric Gilbert in a statement. "We look forward to being a positive force for bringing new therapies and improved formulations of existing therapies to the global healthcare marketplace and to critically ill patient populations."
Enzon, backed by biotech mogul Carl Icahn, has seen a series of setbacks in the last few years, shelving several development programs and hacking away at its workforce.
- here's the release