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news.Novozymes Biopharma, a subsidiary of Novozymes, has announced that its albumin-based VELTIS half-life extension technology is being used by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in the recently authorized Eperzan (albiglutide) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in Europe.
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The application of Novozymes’ VELTIS technology in the drug delivers an extended half-life which will enable patients to inject only once per week.
Novozymes business development executive vice president Thomas Videbæk noted that the first approval for a product based on Novozymes’ VELTIS technology, and marketed by one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, marks a significant milestone for our half-life extension platform.
"We consider this authorization real proof that VELTIS can offer true benefits to patients, reducing the inconvenience with daily drug dosing," Videbæk added.
VELTIS technology is a series of native and engineered human albumins. When combined with a drug candidate it offers the potential for tunable control of therapeutic half-life in a manner previously unachievable with other half-life extension platforms.
In particular, the technology opens the door towards weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly dosing regimens, a monumental shift away from the daily dosing regimens currently necessary to manage medical conditions.
The technology also offers Novozymes’ other partners, such as the recently announced Janssen Research & Development collaboration, the market’s only half-life extension technology using animal-free recombinant human albumin.
The combination of these unique elements means that Novozymes’ technology can help partners develop and take improved and innovative drugs from clinic to market more efficiently.