VC Versant Ventures is unveiling Dayra Therapeutics, a new biotech working on oral macrocyclic peptide drugs—a mission that has already reeled in a partnership with Biogen.
The biopharma has paid $50 million upfront to enter a research pact with Toronto-based Dayra, according to a Nov. 24 release. Beyond Biogen’s cash payment, the new biotech has also locked in an equity commitment of $20 million from Versant.
Together, Dayra and Biogen aim to discover and develop oral macrocyclic peptides for undisclosed targets in immunological diseases, according to a separate release.
Macrocyclic peptides—such as the antifungal Rezzayo or multiple myeloma treatment Aphexda—are known for their target specificity and increased potency and durability. However, efforts to systematically develop macrocycles have run into challenges tied to pharmacokinetics, cell permeability and oral bioavailability.
Dayra believes oral versions of the drug class could possibly boost specificity even more and access target protein binding sites that traditional small molecule drugs struggle to reach. And the biotech isn’t the only one who thinks that.
Earlier this year, argenx penned a pact worth $1.5 billion in biobucks with Californian biotech Unnatural Products in hopes of generating orally available macrocyclic peptide action against a range of undisclosed “undruggable” targets.
Big Pharma Merck & Co. has also hailed macrocyclic peptides as the “next wave of drug discovery,” supporting Unnatural Products and even inking its own deal with the biotech in 2024.
In the newly announced partnership, Biogen will have the chance to acquire the development candidates for a potential additional payment per program. Preclinical and clinical development milestone payments are also on the table for each program.
“With this collaboration, we are adding another potential best-in-class approach to our early-stage portfolio to target multiple high-value immunological conditions,” Jane Grogan, Ph.D., Biogen’s executive vice president and research head, said in the release.
“Building on multiple technical advances in the field, we believe Dayra Therapeutics’ state-of-the-art macrocycle discovery platform could help realize the full potential of macrocycle-based treatments,” she added.
In recent days, the company—known for its neuroscience efforts—has been doubling down on its immunology roots, Uptal Patel, M.D., head of Biogen’s West Coast hub, told Fierce Biotech.
As for Dayra, the company emerges from Versant’s Frontier Discovery Engine—the firm’s state-of-the-art research labs—in Toronto and Montreal. The biotech says it is taking aim at creating oral macrocyclic peptides across a range of conditions.
Dayra touts a macrocycle discovery platform that it combines with computational design and modeling to create novel drugs.
“The field of macrocycles is at a new inflection point and is starting to deliver meaningful medicines,” Rami Hannoush, Ph.D., Dayra’s acting CEO and Versant venture partner, said in the release. “Dayra has brought together insights and enablement from Versant’s Frontier Discovery Engine, exceptional leadership with deep macrocycle drug development expertise, and this foundational collaboration with Biogen, putting the company in a very strong position.”
Hannoush is joined by Roger Palframan, Ph.D., who serves as the biotech’s chief scientific officer. Before Dayra, Palframan spent more than 18 years at Belgium-based UCB.
Dayra is one of the several biotechs coming from Versant this year, following autoimmune disease startup Granite Bio and obesity-focused Helicore Biopharma. Since Versant’s founding in 1999, more than 100 of the VC’s companies have been acquired or successfully debuted on the public market, according to the firm.