Novozymes Biopharma and Almac have entered a collaboration to provide a combined service for drug targeting and pharmacokinetic improvements for drug development applications. The collaboration will employ Almac’s manufacturing assets and protein conjugation capability to link Novozymes’ Recombumin Flex technology to peptide and small molecule drugs in an effort to improve pharmacokinetics. The companies have begun collaborating with commercial partners and this process has been shown to improve drug targeting in oncology and rheumatoid arthritis.  
 
Novozymes’ Recombumin Flex technology modifies the amino acid sequence of human albumin to increase its receptor affinity, providing improved half-life extension and drug targeting. This technology complements Almac’s peptide and small molecule manufacturing expertise, and can also be used with its protein conjugation technology offerings.
 
“By working alongside Almac, we are confident that we will be able to create more opportunities for developers seeking to benefit from the RecombuminFlex technology.” said Dermot Pearson, marketing director at Novozymes Biopharma. “The advantage of working with two companies well versed in providing products and services to the pharmaceutical industry is that customers gain the assurance that their needs will be provided for, not just in the short term, but right through to commercial supply.”
 
Denis Geffroy, vice president business development for Almac said, “This alliance has clear benefits for companies involved in both drug development and delivery technologies: a complete service can be recommended utilizing the core expertise of both parties at an early stage of clinical development, thus significantly enhancing the success of drug development programs.”