Massachusetts-based biotech Vivtex and Swiss company Equillium have agreed on a research and licensing deal to use Vivtex’s AI-enabled screening platform to optimise the bioavailability of Equillium’s autoimmune therapy, EQ302.
The partnership, announced yesterday (16 September), supports EQ302 development as Equillium looks to initiate a Phase I trial in the latter half of 2025. Though the financial specifics of the deal have not been made public, Equillium will have the option to enter into a licensing agreement within which Vivtex could be eligible for royalties and other payments.
EQ302 is a peptide which targets interleukins (IL)-15 and IL-21, cytokines active in the pathology of several inflammatory conditions. To maximise bioavailability, Equillium will employ Vivtex’s GI-ORIS (gastrointestinal organic robotic interface system) platform, an AI-enabled technology which uses porcine GI tissue for high-throughput screening.
It is the derivate of a previously promising precursor, EQ102, which was in a Phase I trial for coeliac disease but was dropped after Phase II data showed underwhelming bioavailability. As opposed to its parent molecule, administered through subcutaneous injection, EQ302 is an oral formulation.
EQ302 is currently in preclinical testing for inflammatory bowel disease, coeliac disease, eosinophilic esophagitis, and skin inflammation. It comprises Equillium’s developmental pipeline along with EQ101, a trispecific cytokine inhibitor in Phase II trials in cancers and alopecia, and itolizumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting the CD6-ALCAM pathway.
Itolizumab is the company’s most advanced candidate, and is in a Phase III trial (NCT05263999) for acute graft-versus-host disease. GlobalData projects that the drug will generate an annual $180m for Equillium by 2030.
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The agreement caused little movement in Equillium stock. Equillium’s share price stood at $0.87 as the markets closed before the weekend and rose to $0.90 as they opened on 16 September, as per Yahoo Finance. The company has yet to reverse a general decline since a share price high of $19.69 in November 2018. Its market cap is currently valued at $30.47m.
Stephen Connelly, CSO of Equillium, underlined the company’s confidence in Vivtex’s platform in a statement on the development. This was reiterated by Maureen Deehan, CEO of Vivtex, who said those involved were, “confident that this partnership will accelerate efforts to offer more effective, accessible, and less burdensome treatment options to patients”, with improved patient compliance stressed as an integral benefit of the oral formulation.
