Morphic Therapeutic Enters $725M Collaboration with Janssen to Develop Novel Oral Integrin Therapies

On February 21, Morphic Therapeutic, a biotechnology company focused on the development of oral integrin therapies, announced that it had entered into a research and development collaboration agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The two parties will jointly engage in the discovery and development of novel integrin therapies for the treatment of patients who have an inadequate response to existing treatments. The collaboration focuses on several undisclosed integrin targets, and the two companies will explore the therapeutic utility of integrin modulators, including both inhibitors and activators.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will collaborate on preclinical development to identify and advance drug candidates. Upon completion of studies required for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application, Janssen may option the compounds and will be responsible for global clinical development and commercialization. Janssen will pay an undisclosed upfront payment and fund the research activities. Upon achievement of these milestones, Morphic will receive total payments exceeding $725 million from Janssen upon reaching preclinical, clinical, and commercial milestones. Morphic will also receive tiered royalties on global net sales of any products resulting from the collaboration.

To date, Morphic Therapeutic has secured a leading position in the development of novel oral small-molecule integrin inhibitors by leveraging the groundbreaking structural research of its scientific founder, Tim Springer. Applying this platform to all 24 known human integrins, including αI integrin targets, has the potential to expand its drug discovery capabilities, pipeline, and therapeutic applications of candidate drugs across a wide range of diseases. This also underscores the critical role integrins play in numerous cellular processes.

Integrins are a family of receptors widely present on the surface of most human cells, composed of a heterodimer consisting of one α subunit and one β subunit. Integrin signaling regulates a broad spectrum of cellular processes, including cell survival, cell cycle progression, immune system activation, cell differentiation, and cell migration. Aberrant integrin signaling leads to various human diseases, including fibrosis,AutoimmunityInfectious Diseases and ImmunologyTumorand other fields.

The αI domain of integrin dimers is present in the α subunit, conferring distinct ligand-binding mechanisms; however, integrins containing the αI domain are distinct from the α1 subunit of integrin dimers. Integrins with the αI domain represent a unique structural class among the 24 members of the human integrin family. Activators of integrin function may be therapeutically useful in treating diseases characterized by impaired cell function due to weakened integrin-mediated interactions with the microenvironment.

Morphic Therapeutic has established an exclusive integrin-focused partnership with Schrödinger, a leader in chemical modeling and computer simulation for drug discovery. This collaboration enables Morphic to leverage various physics-based next-generation technologies to design, iterate, and optimize lead compounds, enhanced by machine learning, artificial intelligence, and Schrödinger’s extensive high-performance computing infrastructure. Since its inception, Morphic has built an integrin-centric compound library, which, combined with its deep platform expertise in integrin inhibitors, allows the company to rapidly identify clinical development candidates for the treatment of human diseases.

Praveen Tipirneni, President and Chief Executive Officer of Morphic Therapeutic, stated: “Our team is delighted to welcome a partner like Janssen to leverage our internal platform and jointly advance the development of next-generation oral integrin therapeutics. The dysregulation of multiple integrin families is implicated in numerous diseases, creating a sense of urgency that drives our team to rapidly and systematically investigate this target from both inhibitory and activatory perspectives. This collaboration presents an exciting opportunity to propel oral integrin development into new research domains, create value for all our internal programs, and accelerate the refinement and validation of our platform.”BioValleyBioon.com）