Molecular Partners AG (NASDAQ:MOLN) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

It’s really the 3 and plus months we want to see. There is biomarkers to sort of predict that, but the data is the data. So there will be more safety and initial activity data that we showed this year and then more to come on the durability of the response. As we cannot foresee at what dose level we see activity, it’s difficult to guide on timing, but the second half of the year for initial results is good. And the Novartis

Seth Lewis: Yes. I’m just going €“ this is Seth. thanks, please. Maybe to the Novartis collaboration as well, I was just going to point out one thing in the way that we were €“ the question was, so Jo, for your benefit, the deal when we did the two targets with NIBR, these are two targets that they had asked us to build which, we said at the time not things that we were actively prosecuting at that time. So we’re very interested and happy to do so. But the comment and the consideration around the kidney accumulation issue, that’s a systemic problem for all protein therapeutics and one that we’re now showing that we can potentially and it looks very encouraging around, but that was not €“ and is not a rate-limiting step for us in our relationship with Novartis.

So they aren’t waiting for us to do anything on that. They will profit from it because we want the profit as a partner, and we want them to succeed, but I don’t €“ I just want to be sure that there was a confusion in the question that there were somehow this kidney toxicity accumulation consideration with somehow rate-limiting to our work with Novartis or anything else. It’s a systemic thing that we look like we believe in our €“ at this moment with our scientists that we’re going to be able to overcome and we’re very hopeful for it. Go ahead, Patrick, sorry.

Patrick Amstutz: No, absolutely. I echo what you say. Jo, when we signed the agreement with Novartis, there was no cell whatsoever, no orthogonal approaches. So this is all on top. I think it is fair to say that we are delivering or have delivered initial DARPins to Novartis. So there is absolutely no setback there. That’s going as planned. But the time lines for €“ from binders to candidates to clinical trials, that’s the question you have to ask Novartis. So we can only guide on our own pipeline, and we hold through that we want to see the first radio DARPin Therapy in the clinic next year in €˜24. That’s an aim we have. You asked a very good question about what €“ for what do we need a partner? And you made it also, I think, very clear that I mean €“ there is more to just linked DARPin to a and put a radioisotope on and you have your product.

I think what I just described, so the chemistry that is actually quite simple. So we have done that several times. That is not the difficult part. The difficult part is the logistics in the clinic, is the quality of manufacturing, is the global distribution. And that’s where we want to also then work with the leader in the field or the leaders in the field, maybe one because that race is ongoing or race. That establishment of this drug class as a drug class that can be really patients. We see the problems. We see the problem Novartis has. So we don’t want to do that alone. We don’t €“ we need partners who can do it, and we will likely do collaborations, maybe more of the shape of a 50-50 that we co-own the product with such a company that actually has radioisotopes and is building the delivery and the logistics around it.