Schlieren, ZH/Villejuif — Molecular Partners, a biotech company based in Schlieren, has administered its drug candidate to the first cancer patients. As part of a Phase 1/2a clinical trial, the radiopharmaceutical therapy developed in collaboration with Orano Med targets a protein found in several types of tumors.
(CONNECT) Molecular Partners has announced that the first patient has received a dose of its drug candidate MP0712 and that additional patients have been enrolled. Founded in 2004 as a spin-off of the University of Zurich and based in the Schlieren-Zurich Bio-Technopark, the company is developing this active ingredient in collaboration with its strategic partner, Orano Med. Since May 2026, the radio-pharmaceutical company's official headquarters has been located in the European cancer research cluster in the French city of Villejuif, near Paris.
The drug candidate is currently being tested in the United States as part of an ongoing multicentre Phase 1/2a trial. Currently, five study centers there are actively recruiting patients with various types of cancer. This is because the so-called Radio-DARPin (Designed Ankyrin Repeat Protein) candidate MP0712 targets the tumor-associated protein Delta-like Ligand 3 (DLL3). It is found in more than 85 percent of tumors in patients with small-cell lung cancer, as well as in numerous other aggressive neuroendocrine cancers, but is rarely found in healthy tissue.
Additional study sites are expected to be added later this year. Initial clinical data are expected in the coming months, with more comprehensive data on safety and efficacy expected in 2027. “The treatment of the first patients in this study is an important step for Orano Med and our collaboration,” Orano Med CEO Dr. Frédéric Desdouits is quoted as saying. It highlights the drug's potential to treat a wide range of cancers.
Dr. Patrick Amstutz, CEO of Molecular Partners, also expressed his satisfaction: “Now that the first patient is undergoing repeat treatment and the first cohort has been recruited, we are determining the clinical safety profile of this novel therapy in real time. Working closely with the investigators in our study, we remain on track to publish initial study data in 2026 while paving the way for the further development of other Radio-DARPin candidates.” ce/mm
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