Bayer, PeptiDream partner to identify new active substance candidates through novel peptide-based screening technology

Under the agreement, Bayer and PeptiDream will work to identify new compounds for difficult-to-address drug targets by using PeptiDream’s proprietary Peptide Discovery Platform System (PDPS) technology. The aim of the collaboration is to discover novel lead structures in areas of high unmet medical need across Bayer’s strategic research areas such as oncology or cardiology.

Finding new lead structures is one of the major challenges in drug discovery. PeptiDream has developed a novel peptide-based hit-finding technology which offers starting points for lead-discovery projects for difficult-to-address targets based on the great magnitude of the libraries. The multi-year collaboration will complement Bayer’s internal lead discovery capabilities and represents a strategic extension of Bayer’s in-house technology portfolio.

“Complementing our in-house expertise with technologies and know-how of excellent partners is an integral part of our innovation strategy at Bayer”, said Dr. Andreas Busch, member of the Executive Committee of Bayer AG’s Pharmaceuticals Division and Head of Drug Discovery. “We believe that the Peptide-Discovery Platform System of PeptiDream offers a highly promising technology for our drug discovery efforts.”

“Our PDPS technology allows for the creation of macrocyclic peptide libraries of almost limitless chemical diversity that can then be selected against targets of interest, leading to the rapid identification of highly active and selective hits against difficult-to-address targets. We have been successful across all of our partnerships and we are confident that we can contribute to Bayer’s drug discovery efforts”, said Patrick C. Reid, CEO and President of PeptiDream.

Under the terms of this agreement, PeptiDream will receive an up-front payment as well as success-based milestone payments. Bayer owns the rights to novel lead structures generated in the course of the collaboration and obtains a license under PeptiDream’s PDPS technology to the extent necessary for human therapeutic use (excluding peptide-drug conjugates) of those novel structures. PeptiDream will also receive royalties on successfully commercialized drugs that result from a collaboration program.

Bayer, peptidream partner, substance candidates through, novel peptide-based, screening technology