Arla Foods Ingredients Group P/S and Zerion have entered into an agreement covering the supply of Arla’s novel ingredient Lacprodan BLG.

Zerion utilizes this highly purified protein as a critical component in its patented Dispersome technology that enables poorly soluble drugs to reach their true therapeutic potential, it states. The agreement marks an important milestone in a year long collaboration between the two companies.

“Since 2018, we have evaluated a range of protein excipients with our Dispersome technology and among those, Arla’s Lacprodan BLG has consistently demonstrated an impressive solubility enhancement of many small molecule drug compounds,” explains Zerion’s Chief Scientific Officer, Korbinian Löbmann. “As an integral part of the drug evaluation and approval for the Dispersome formulations, the protein will undergo regulatory assessment by FDA and EMA as a novel pharmaceutical excipient. It is therefore of utmost importance for us to source a protein of the highest quality and purity. Here, we have been very fortunate to work with Arla and to identify Lacprodan BLG for our applications.”

The agreement

The agreement between Arla and Zerion sets forth the intention of the parties to complete a full license and supply agreement. Under the final long-term supply agreement, Arla will supply Lacprodan BLG for use as a pharmaceutical excipient to Zerion.

“The agreement with Arla confirms our excellent collaboration and represents an important step forward for ZERION to secure the long-term supply of Lacprodan BLG as an enabling excipient for our Dispersome technology,” says Ole Wiborg, CEO of Zerion. “We are grateful for the support and willingness to explore novel pharmaceutical applications from Arla.”

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