MSD Starts Phase I Trial of Peptide Candidate Using Cyprumed Oral Tablet Technology
核心洞察
MSD has initiated a Phase I trial of a proprietary drug candidate formulated with Cyprumed's licensed oral tablet delivery technology for peptides.
The study is the first Cyprumed technology program to enter human clinical development and triggers a milestone payment from MSD.
The trial follows a non-exclusive license and option agreement signed in April 2025, under which Cyprumed is eligible for up to $493 million in milestones.
MSD (tradename of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA) has initiated a Phase I clinical trial of one of its proprietary drug candidates formulated using Cyprumed GmbH (搜索)'s licensed oral drug delivery technology, the Innsbruck-based company announced on September 29, 2026. The study is the first Cyprumed technology program to enter human clinical development and triggers a milestone payment from MSD under the companies' existing collaboration agreement.
The Phase I trial will evaluate the MSD drug candidate in a tablet formulation based on Cyprumed's oral delivery platform. Cyprumed did not disclose the identity of the peptide candidate, the number of participants, or the study's endpoints.
Agreement Terms and Milestone Structure
The study follows the Non-Exclusive License and Option Agreement the two companies announced in April 2025 to develop oral formulations of MSD's peptides using Cyprumed's delivery technology. Under that agreement, Cyprumed is eligible to receive up to $493 million in upfront, development, regulatory and net sales milestones tied to products developed under the collaboration. The start of the Phase I trial is the event that triggers the first such payment, according to the announcement.
Food Effects and Exposure Consistency
Florian Föger, Ph.D., CEO of Cyprumed, framed the trial start as validation of the company's platform and pointed to the practical goals of the technology. "Our goal is not only to enable oral delivery of peptides, but also to overcome key challenges associated with oral administration, including the impact of food on drug absorption," he said. "This could give patients greater flexibility in when and what they eat, while potentially providing more consistent drug exposure. We believe this could be particularly meaningful for people living with chronic diseases who need to take medication every day."
Formulation and Manufacturing Approach
Martin Werle, Ph.D., COO of Cyprumed, described the tablet platform as combining oral bioavailability for peptides with a formulation approach intended to be practical and scalable. "Beyond enabling differentiated product performance, the platform relies on well-characterized pharmaceutical excipients," Werle said. "This provides a strong foundation from both a safety and regulatory perspective, while also supporting robust manufacturability and scalability. Together, these attributes can help reduce development complexity and support efficient pharmaceutical and clinical development."
Platform Scope
Cyprumed is a drug delivery technology company based in Innsbruck, Austria, focused on technology platforms for the oral administration of therapeutic peptides, including GLP-1 (搜索) analogues, macrocycles and mini-proteins. The company states that its proprietary delivery platforms use tablet formulations designed to offer superior oral bioavailability and are built on already approved pharmaceutical excipients, which the company says improves scalability, cost-efficiency and regulatory compliance.