SHL Medical, a provider of advanced drug delivery solutions, signed a collaboration agreement with MoonLake Immunotherapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on therapies for inflammatory diseases, to develop an autoinjector for clinical and potential commercial supply of MoonLake’s Nanobody sonelokimab based on SHL Medical’s Molly autoinjector technology.

Under the agreement, SHL Medical will provide its device development expertise, assembly guidance, and production competencies to support the sonelokimab drug-device project.

Sonelokimab is MoonLake Immunotherapeutics’ investigational anti-IL-17 A/F Nanobody technology designed to more directly target sites of inflammation and penetrate difficult-to-reach inflamed tissues and joints. A ~40 kDa molecule, sonelokimab can be delivered subcutaneously by patients via self-injection devices, including in a patient-centric autoinjector format. Sonelokimab is currently in clinical development for several indications, including moderate-to-severe plaque-type psoriasis and hidradenitis suppurativa, a severely debilitating chronic skin condition resulting in irreversible tissue destruction.

The Molly autoinjector is a market-proven modular platform technology developed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies reduce initial investments and expedite development timelines.

According to SHL Medical, to date, a total of 17 combination products that leverage the Molly autoinjector technology have been approved in at least 69 countries, enabling home treatment in a wide range of therapeutic areas that require injectable medicines, including for dermatologic and inflammatory indications.

“SHL Medical and MoonLake are united by our shared passion for pursuing innovation and going beyond to deliver novel therapies that help unlock value and improve patients’ lives,” said SHL Medical CEO Ulrich Faessler. “Working with MoonLake while sonelokimab is in development allows us to carry out strategies that best complement MoonLake’s clinical and commercial needs. We are excited about the collaboration and look forward to potentially bringing the innovative Nanobody technology for dermatologic and rheumatic inflammatory indications to patients worldwide.”

Oliver Daltrop, chief technical officer of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics, said, “MoonLake is proud to be partnering with a world leader in advanced autoinjector development to provide sonelokimab for clinical and potentially commercial supply. As we actively plan for a Phase 3 program and commercial readiness, SHL’s expertise will greatly enhance our ability to introduce sonelokimab in an autoinjector format that could provide a benefit for patients, if approved.”