Vinnova grant awarded to joint project between PolyPeptide and Red Glead Discovery for developing a more sustainable manufacturing method for a GLP-1 agonist

PolyPeptide in Limhamn, Sweden and Red Glead Discovery in Lund, Sweden have joined forces to pursue the development of a more sustainable manufacturing method for a GLP-1 agonist. The project has been awarded 1 MSEK from Vinnova, Sweden’s innovation agency, and will be running over the next 12 months.

The global demand for diabetes and obesity medications, or GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs, is significant. The Manufacturing of peptides is generally a process with a high process mass intensity, including the use of hazardous solvents such as N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) in large quantities. As such, there is an increasing demand for developing effective green manufacturing processes for peptides to meet future demands, while decreasing the environmental impact.

Under the project, a detailed experimental investigation into whether a specific GLP-1 peptide can be produced efficiently using other solvent(s) than DMF will be performed. A successful outcome will benefit workers in the peptide manufacturing industry, the environment and promote sustainable development.

Johan Evenäs, CEO at Red Glead Discovery says: “This project has the potential to further position Sweden and Skåne as an arena for sustainable innovation and production of peptide-based compounds for pharmaceuticals and other applications.”

Linda Haugaard-Kedström, Development Director, PolyPeptide Group, says: “PolyPeptide’s strategy is to be the most innovative peptide CDMO. This includes collaborative efforts to develop green chemistry processes for growing manufacturing volumes.”

About Vinnova – 2024 call on Sustainable manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and medical technology products
Vinnova wants to contribute to sustainable development in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and medical technology products. The call for proposals finances feasibility studies to develop circular production processes without sacrificing safety, quality or environmental impact.

About Red Glead Discovery AB – better health for people and planet

Red Glead Discovery is a leading Scandinavian Drug Discovery and Chemistry Partner for integrated research. The company supports clients and partners in the Life Science industry to develop their ideas for new drugs. Red Glead Discovery was founded in 2011 by seven AstraZeneca co-workers and has today more than 50 employees. It has been recognized five times as a fast-growth Gazelle company by Scandinavia’s largest business paper, Dagens Industri.
www.redglead.com

About PolyPeptide Group – global support for a quality solution

PolyPeptide is a focused Contract Development & Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) for peptide- and oligonucleotide-based active pharmaceutical ingredients. By supporting its customers mainly in pharma and biotech, it contributes to the health of millions of patients across the world. Dating back to 1952, PolyPeptide today runs a global network of six GMP-certified facilities in Europe, the U.S. and India. PolyPeptide’s shares (SIX: PPGN) are listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. www.polypeptide.com

For more information, please contact:

Johan Evenäs, johan.evenas@redglead.com CEO, Red Glead Discovery

Linda Haugaard-Kedström, Linda.Haugaard-Kedstroem@polypeptide.com

Development Director, PolyPeptide Group