Novo Nordisk and Eleven Therapeutics team up to tackle cardiometabolic diseases
Eleven Therapeutics, a biotech company developing nextgen RNA therapeutics through the mastery of combinatorial chemistry and AI, has negotiated a research collaboration with Novo Nordisk. Eleven has operations in Cambridge UK, Boston and Tel Aviv.
The companies aim to identify novel molecules that promote precise delivery of nucleic acid by leveraging Eleven's innovative DELiveri™ platform – ushering in a new era of precision in nucleic acid medicine for cardiometabolic diseases.
Nucleic acid therapeutics have immense potential for cardiometabolic diseases. However, the major challenge to their successful development as safe and effective agents is the paucity of organ-specific delivery agents.
The DELiveri™ platform revolutionises the field of nucleic acid therapeutics by utilising DNA-encoded libraries (DELs) to discover conjugates that effectively deliver therapeutic molecules and present great promise for a multitude of potential therapeutic areas.
This collaboration provides Novo Nordisk with exclusivity for specific cell types and applications associated with Eleven's innovative DELiveri™ platform in a staged approach.
Uli Stilz, head of Novo Nordisk's Bio Innovation Hub in Boston, says: “Our research collaboration with Eleven Therapeutics builds on Novo Nordisk's commitment to advancing precision medicine and opens up the opportunity to learn from one another as we explore novel cell-specific targeting strategies.
“With the combination of our joint team's expertise and using Eleven's DELiveri™ platform, we can potentially unlock transformative treatments for people living with cardiometabolic diseases.”
Professor Yaniv Erlich, CEO of Eleven Therapeutics, added: "We are delighted to collaborate with Novo Nordisk, a leader in global healthcare. Firstly, this collaboration has the potential for immense positive impact on patients' lives through the multitude of therapeutic cargos each of the discovered carriers could afford.
“Furthermore, it is a testament to the promise of our DELiveri™ platform, which is uniquely tailored to discover cell-selective delivery moieties – small molecules and other types – at an efficiency level yet to be observed in this field, thanks to the throughput capabilities of DELs.”
• PHOTOGRAPH: Uli Stilz, head of Novo Nordisk’s Bio Innovation Hub in Boston with Dr Iris Grossman CSO at Eleven Therapeutics and co-founder and CEO Professor Yaniv Erlich.