Merck and Dewpoint Therapeutics Announce $305M Collaboration to Develop Potential Curative Therapy for HIV

Compiled by S. Li

On July 13 local time, MSD and Boston-based Dewpoint Therapeutics jointly announced a collaboration to co-develop novel mechanism-of-action therapies for HIV, leveraging the latter’s proprietary biomolecular condensate drug discovery platform, with the aim of exploring potential cures for this devastating disease. Under the terms of the agreement, MSD will make upfront and milestone payments totaling $305 million to Dewpoint. Neither company disclosed details regarding the development progress of the HIV therapies involved in the collaboration.

In 2019, Dewpoint launched a novel drug discovery platform that leverages biomolecular condensates to discover new, more effective therapies for some of the world’s most pressing diseases. Biomolecular condensates are well-studied membraneless organelles within cells that utilize intrinsically disordered regions to compartmentalize specific proteins or nucleic acids into distinct phases via phase separation. According to Dewpoint, this process is a key factor in a range of biological functions and disease processes, including viral infections. The company’s high-throughput biomolecular condensate platform enables the characterization of complex interactions among biomolecular ensembles and identifies drugs capable of intervening through novel mechanisms. Dewpoint is dedicated to targeting individual biomolecules or interacting biomolecular networks to create new therapies for currently untreatable or incurable diseases, such as HIV.

Stress Cells Form Condensates, Image Source: Dewpoint Official Website

Ann Kwong, Head of Research and Development at Dewpoint Therapeutics, stated that the company is delighted to have entered into this collaboration with Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD). The shared goal of both companies is to develop a novel therapy with curative potential for people living with HIV, rather than merely suppressing the infection.

In 2018, MSD obtained U.S. approval for two HIV treatment drugs: the once-daily triple-combination therapy Delstrigo and the novel non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) Pifeltro. Both Delstrigo and Pifeltro are indicated for antiretroviral-naïve adult patients with HIV-1. This June, at the International AIDS Conference, MSD announced the results of a Phase IIb clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of islatravir, a nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor (NRTTI), in combination with doravirine, an NNRTI, in antiretroviral-naïve adults with HIV-1. The results demonstrated that this combination regimen had efficacy comparable to the triple-combination therapy Delstrigo.

Prior to its collaboration with MSD, Dewpoint had entered into a $100 million partnership with Bayer to co-develop novel therapies for cardiovascular and gynecological diseases. This collaboration also leveraged Dewpoint’s biomolecular condensate platform to conduct drug discovery within Bayer’s small-molecule compound library.

Reference Source: Merck, Dewpoint Collaborate to Develop Potential HIV Curative Treatment