Partnership with Gubra aims to identify and advance a lead long-acting GLP-1 receptor antagonist candidate into IND-enabling studies.
US biopharma Amylyx Pharmaceuticals has embarked on a collaboration with Danish biotech Gubra to develop a novel long-acting GLP-1 receptor antagonist. The partnership comes as Amylyx seeks to diversify its pipeline following the withdrawal of its FDA-approved ALS treatment earlier this year, prompted by clinical trial data indicating a lack of efficacy.
The GLP-1 drug class has generated significant attention in the pharmaceutical industry, spurred by the widespread success of diabetes and weight loss treatments such as Ozempic and Wegovy. These drugs, which inhibit the GLP-1 receptor, have driven renewed investment in metabolic disease research and development, and have been heavily linked to potential longevity benefits. The Gubra collaboration is not Amylyx’s first foray into the GLP-1 space – earlier this year, the company acquired a GLP-1 receptor antagonist from Eiger Biopharma for $35.1 million, which is under development as a potential treatment for post-bariatric hypoglycemia.
Through the new collaboration, Amylyx aims to capitalize on Gubra’s technological capabilities and track record of accelerating peptide discovery and development, and envisions identifying a lead candidate to advance into Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies. Once this milestone is achieved, Amylyx retains the option to spearhead further development of the therapeutic candidate.
“The GLP-1 receptor is a well-characterized biological target and one of the key regulators of the glucose insulin response,” read a statement attributed to Amylyx’s co-CEOs Joshua Cohen and Justin Klee. “Given the highly significant data avexitide, our first-in-class GLP-1 receptor antagonist, has generated to date, we are excited to further explore this known pathway and the potential of adding to our pipeline a new long-acting GLP-1 receptor antagonist.”
Gubra will receive upfront and research payments and stands to earn over $50 million in development and commercialization milestones if the project achieves success. Additionally, the agreement includes provisions for mid-single-digit royalties on global net sales.
Established in Denmark in 2008, Gubra brings specialized expertise in peptide-based drug discovery and preclinical research, with a particular focus on metabolic and fibrotic diseases. The company says its drug discovery process integrates machine learning and AI-driven analysis, enabling rapid screening of peptide candidates to identify those with the most promising therapeutic profiles.
“We are pleased to partner with Amylyx to advance GLP-1 receptor antagonism research,” said Henrik Blou, CEO of Gubra. “This collaboration and development agreement is an example of leading pharmaceutical companies partnering with us for our machine learning-based peptide drug discovery platform.”
