__________________________________________________________________________________________ Molecular
Partners
As a leader in protein engineering , Molecular Partners leverages innate properties of the drug class it invented , DARPins , to develop therapeutics for medical challenges other drug modalities cannot readily address . Sparked by a major scientific discovery over 20 years ago , the company sees ongoing success . Alex Zürcher , Chief Operating Officer at Molecular Partners , begins : “ Molecular Partners AG is a clinicalstage biotech company pioneering and developing Designed Ankyrin Repeat Protein ( DARPin ) therapeutics for patients . Researchers at the University of Zurich , Switzerland , formed Molecular Partners AG in 2004 . These scientists discovered and developed the DARPin technology and have been the leaders in the field ever since . We are a team of approximately 180 dedicated and passionate colleagues with operations in Switzerland and the US .
“ Through our leadership and together with partners , we have developed seven clinical-stage DARPin candidates , treated over 2,500 patients globally , demonstrated clinical value of DARPin therapeutics across several therapeutic areas , and reached late-stage clinical development , including registration stage with ensovibep ( antiviral DARPin ) and abicipar ( a long-acting anti-VEGF DARPin for ophthalmology ). Molecular Partners became a publicly traded company in November 2014 , when it was listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange .
Since July 2021 , the company has been listed on the Nasdaq in the US , also under the ticker symbol MOLN .”
DARPins themselves are unlike anything else available in the industry , as Alex details : “ DARPin therapeutics are a new class of custom-built drugs based on natural binding proteins with the potential to overcome several limitations of current protein-based therapeutics . Through our 20 years of leadership and innovation with DARPins , we have advanced the versatility of DARPin therapeutics for the benefit of patients . The platform has been optimized to enable rapid and cost-effective cell line generation and high-yield production of DARPins in E . coli and we have secured our intellectual property position covering evolutions of and improvements to the DARPin platform with around 400 patents and patent applications filed . We continue to improve upon our learnings and have twice manufactured DARPin therapeutics up to commercial scale manufacturing : with Allergan for abicipar , which was preparing for commercial launch , and with Novartis for ensovibep , as we filed for an Emergency Use Authorization during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic .
“ Our DARPin platform has vast applicability across a range of diseases , with clinical value demonstrated in ophthalmology , virology , and oncology . Our R & D pipeline presently focuses on oncology , with two clinical programs and a suite of preclinical projects
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