Foundation Sponsors

ChemPartner

ChemPartner is a leading research organization with over 2000 scientists providing high-quality and cost-effective integrated partnerships for the biopharmaceutical industry. Our dedication to life science can been seen in all of our services from discovery biologics, discovery peptide and medicinal chemistry, discovery biology, and preclinical development through pharmaceutical development and manufacturing services for small molecules and biologics, DMPK, CMC, and biologics manufacturing.

We are a true partner in therapeutic peptide drug discovery and we offer a fully integrated capability. Our company serves a diverse global client base and has laboratories, business offices, and representatives in the US, Europe, China, and Japan. ChemPartner has a center of excellence located in South San Francisco, California. This group of talented scientists has extensive industry experience in peptide, medicinal, synthetic, analytical and computational chemistry as well as biologics.

Our chemists have designed and synthesized millions of molecules and peptides for hundreds of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. A large number of these have contributed to the clinical development pipelines of our biopharmaceutical partners, including an array of early-phase clinical candidates, and a recent entry into Phase III clinical studies for a major pharmaceutical client.

Ferring Research Institute, Inc.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, Ferring Research Institute, Inc., (FRI) is the global peptide/protein therapeutics research center for Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Established in 1996, FRI is located in the heart of the Southern California biopharmaceutical community. The center has attracted a diverse group of highly skilled professionals representing over twenty four countries of origin. FRI is focused on the following key therapeutic areas: endocrinology, reproductive health, urology, and gastroenterology. Our state-of-the art facility includes peptide and protein drug design, chemistry, pharmacology, biology, and preclinical ADME capabilities. FRI is committed to building a portfolio of novel, innovative peptide and protein therapeutics to address areas of high unmet medical need.
Ferring Pharmaceuticals (Ferring) is a private, research-driven specialty biopharmaceutical company active in global markets. The company identifies, develops and markets innovative products in the fields of endocrinology, gastroenterology, infertility, obstetrics, urology and osteoarthritis. In recent years Ferring has expanded beyond its traditional European base: with over 5,000 employees worldwide, it operates subsidiaries in 56 countries and makes its products available in more than 90 countries. The company has emerged as a world leader with one of the largest peptide therapeutics portfolios in the industry. As part of its commitment to developing innovative products to treat diseases with high unmet medical need, Ferring invests heavily in its research infrastructure both in terms of people and technology.

Ipsen Bioscience, Inc.

Ipsen is a global specialty care-driven biopharmaceutical group with total sales exceeding €1.4 billion in 2015. Ipsen sells more than 20 drugs primarily across three franchises: oncology, endocrinology, and neurology. Ipsen’s internal R&D focuses on its innovative and differentiated technological platforms: peptides and toxins. Ipsen’s R&D sites are located in the hearts of leading life sciences hubs (Cambridge, USA; Oxford, UK; Les Ulis, France) and are supported by an active policy of partnerships.

Peptides: long-standing expertise
Ipsen has long-standing expertise in peptides, ranging from discovery to delivery that is being leveraged to create highly differentiated drugs addressing targets that are not readily druggable by small molecules or antibodies. Ipsen Bioscience, Ipsen’s new R&D center in Cambridge, develops peptide-based drugs to fulfill major unmet medical needs in endocrinology and oncology.

MedImmune/AstraZeneca

MedImmune is the worldwide biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca with its headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland (MD, USA) and large R&D sites in Cambridge (UK) and Mountain View (CA, USA). The company is pioneering innovative research and exploring novel pathways across key therapeutic areas, including respiratory, inflammation and autoimmunity; cardiovascular and metabolic disease; oncology; and infection and vaccines.

The company’s robust pipeline includes over 120 biologic compounds in R&D, more than 30 in clinical stage development and several marketed products, Synagis® (palivizumab) and Fluenz® (live attenuated influenza vaccine, LAIV) and others. Peptide drugs are a significant part of both MedImmune’s and AstraZeneca’s marketed (Zoladex®, Byetta®, Bydureon®) and (pre-)clinical portfolio.

Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. This heritage has given us experience and capabilities that also enable us to help people defeat obesity, haemophilia, growth disorders and other serious chronic diseases. Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 41,700 people in 77 countries and markets its products in more than 165 countries. Novo Nordisk’s B shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Novo-B). Its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NVO). For more information, visit novonordisk.com.

The PolyPeptide Group

The PolyPeptide Group is a privately-held group of manufacturing sites which focus on proprietary and generic GMP-grade peptides for the pharmaceutical and biotechnological market. With more than 60 years of experience, the Group is committed to the highest quality of peptide manufacturing for commercial peptide drug substances, GMP peptides in clinical trials, or small-scale non-GMP custom syntheses.

The PolyPeptide Group has grown by selective acquisition of existing expertise, culminating in its position today as a leader in peptide manufacturing. The Group has manufacturing facilities in Sweden (Malmo), France (Strasbourg), India (Ambernath) and two sites in the USA (San Diego CA & Torrance CA). As a multinational company with about 520 employees worldwide, its diversity brings breadth and depth of knowledge and experience to the Group.

The Group’s long-established core strength in GMP manufacturing and broad range of services supports peptide & peptide-like projects, including conjugation to non-peptide moieties, from the bench through to commercialization. With continually increasing capacity for GMP manufacturing, the PolyPeptide Group is stronger and better equipped to serve the needs of its customers at all stages of pharmaceutical peptide development. With its multinational organization, strict focus on peptides and solid financial base, the Group offers an almost unique security of supply to its customers.

Zealand Pharma

Zealand Pharma A/S (NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen: ZEAL) (“Zealand”) is a biotechnology company specialized in the discovery, design and development of peptide-based therapeutics. The company has a portfolio of medicines and product candidates under license collaborations with Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim and a proprietary pipeline of product candidates, which primarily target specialty diseases with significant unmet needs.
Zealand is the inventor of lixisenatide, a once-daily prandial GLP-1 analog for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, which is licensed to Sanofi and marketed globally outside the U.S. as Lyxumia® and in the U.S. as Adlyxin®. Sanofi has also developed iGlarLixi, a fixed-ratio combination of lixisenatide and Lantus® (insulin glargine) marketed in U.S. as Soliqua® and Europe as Suliqua®.
Zealand’s proprietary pipeline includes; glepaglutide*, a GLP-2 analog for the treatment of short bowel syndrome which will initiate Phase III studies in 1H18; dasiglucagon*, a glucagon analog in Phase III as a single-dose rescue therapy for severe hypoglycemia and in Phase II as a multiple-dose component in a dual-hormone artificial pancreas system; and other earlier stage clinical and preclinical peptide therapeutics. The company has approximately 130 employees and is based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
* Glepaglutide and dasiglucagon are proposed International Nonproprietary Names (pINNs)

Zydus Cadila

Zydus Cadila is an innovative, global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of healthcare therapies, including small molecule drugs, biologic therapeutics and vaccines. The group employs over 20,000 people worldwide, including 1200 scientists engaged in R & D, and is dedicated to creating healthier communities globally. www.zyduscadila.com