Biocon Limited and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc have entered into an exclusive agreement to jointly develop, commercialize and manufacture a novel peptide therapeutic for the potential treatment of diabetes. The two companies will collaborate to develop the therapeutic potential of the compound and share development costs.

Research will focus on the Amylin's 'phybrid' technology. A phybrid is a peptide hybrid molecule that combines the pharmacological effects of two peptide hormones into a single molecular entity. Under the terms of the agreement, Amylin will provide expertise in peptide hormone development, particularly in the area of phybrid technology and metabolic disease therapeutics. Biocon will utilize its expertise in recombinant microbial expression to manufacture the compound offer its expertise in pre-clinical and clinical development of diabetes products.

The agreement leverages the synergistic capabilities of the two companies. Amylin's knowledge of peptide therapeutics and leadership in the diabetes market, paired with Biocon's capabilities in process development, manufacturing and clinical development, provides this global program with the potential to effectively bring a novel therapy to patients living with diabetes, said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing airector, Biocon, Ltd.

We are pleased to work with Biocon, a biologics innovator and world-class manufacturing expert, and look forward to collaborating with them on this exciting program. This program could unleash the potential of cutting-edge peptide science to transform the lives of patients with diabetes," said Daniel M. Bradbury, President and Chief Executive Officer, Amylin Pharmaceuticals.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company which has two first-in-class medicines for diabetes: Symlin (pramlintide acetate) injection and Byetta (exenatide) injection.