Addressing drug delivery challenges of emerging drug modalities

A new joint venture is set to focus on creating drug delivery solutions for emerging drug modalities.

The new company, ViSync Technologies, is a collaborative effort between the contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Hovine and not-for-profit research intensive SME Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica (iBET).

Located in Oeiras, Portugal, ViSync will work to develop “innovative technologies and scalable solutions”, according to Hovine.

The company aims to support pharmaceutical companies to address challenges in drug formulation and manufacturing for cell and gene therapies (CGTs). These solutions will focus on stabilisation, cell or tissue targeting and drug payload delivery of these treatments. 

Obstacles in drug delivery during development of new therapeutic modalities

While there has been “rapid growth” in new drug modalities such as CGTs and RNA drugs, key challenges remain. These include  “limited drug administration options… issues with high dose drug delivery and high costs. The poor stability of these drugs is also an issue, resulting in the need for cold supply chains”, Hovine and iBET explained.

“New therapeutic modalities have the potential to bring radical improvements to current standards of care and we are thrilled to partner with iBET… to develop technology platforms that help customers bring transformative therapies to patients worldwide. The first step will be to assemble a team who possesses the knowledge, expertise, and ingenuity needed to navigate the complexities ahead,” shared Dr Jean-Luc Herbeaux, CEO of Hovione.

“The immense promise of these new [drug] modalities is at our reach and we are delighted to join forces with Hovione… in this common endeavour, we will gather the scientific and technical competences and skills to support our clients and partners in delivering groundbreaking therapies to patients globally,” commented iBET’s CEO, Dr Paula Alves.

The companies stated that ViSync will launch a laboratory facility in Lisbon. R&D is anticipated to begin by the end of 2024.