iDEL Therapeutics announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo (TSE: 4568) to utilize iDEL’s synthetic shuttle platform for the evaluation of a multi-drug conjugate (MDC) for select solid tumor indications.

Under the terms of the agreement, the multi-year collaboration will focus on the preclinical evaluation of a new class of MDC. The research, led by iDEL and scientists at the Daiichi Sankyo Research Institute Munich, will assess the potential of the MDC relative to an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) with a comparable payload. Further details of the agreement were not disclosed.

“As one of the world leaders in the development of targeted cancer medicines and ADCs, Daiichi Sankyo is the ideal collaborator to support the research and future development of this novel MDC, enabled by iDEL’s synthetic shuttle technology. The collaboration is a validation of the broad potential of our modular platform,” said Marcus Kostka, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of iDEL Therapeutics. “Our technology is being developed to explore approaches that may help mitigate challenges associated with drug uptake and endosomal entrapment.”

Beyond this collaboration, iDEL remains focused on optimizing its differentiated delivery technology to unlock previously undruggable intracellular targets, broaden therapeutic windows and increase treatment flexibility and options for patients with cancer. The company has validated its delivery approach in multiple preclinical in vivo proof-of-concept studies using small molecules, peptide and VHH payloads for intracellular targets and has translated this progress into its preclinical pipeline of MDC and single-domain antibody programs for solid tumors.