Liverpool city region bioscience venture SpheriTech secures deal with global biotech to commercialise its groundbreaking tech that will support the treatment of obesity. Tony McDonough reports
Bioscience venture SpheriTech will move to commercialise its groundbreaking peptide synthesis technology after striking a deal with a global biotech.
Based at The Heath Business and Technical Park in Runcorn, SpheriTech has developed a new manufacturing process for peptides which are crucial for modern medicine as an essential ingredient for numerous drugs.
In particular they are used in drugs for the treatment of obesity which has become a huge health challenge across the world. Peptides are currently synthesised using toxic organic solvents which pose safety and environmental problems
However, research and development by Dr Don Wellings, managing director of SpheriTech and his team, has produced water-based solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) to reduce safety and ecological impact.
Dr Wellings explained: “Over recent years there has been a dramatic surge in the number of peptide drugs approved for human use. Between 2016 and 2023 out of 370 new drugs approved 31 were peptides.
“The recent approvals of the peptides Semaglutide and Tirzepatide for treatment of obesity open the floodgates for development of new peptide drugs.
“Clearly, due to the prevalence of obesity in our modern society the demand for these peptide drugs is going to be phenomenal.
“However, the current manufacturing processes are not capable of supporting the forecasted requirements for the supply of these peptide drugs, so a major change has to be made.”
The majority of peptide drugs are manufactured by SPPS using fmoc-amino acid based chemistry. The SPPS process uses large quantities of toxic solvents such as N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). But there are now stricter regulations around the use of DMF.
Dr Wellings says alternative solvents are also now under similar review. He added: “The problem to-date lies in the fact that Fmoc-amino acids have required organic solvents for dissolution.
“There is now a trend to move towards ‘green chemistry’ choosing solvents with lower toxicity and less environmental impact. However, with numerous groups worldwide working on the problem, nobody has come up with a solution.”
Now SpheriTech’s groundbreaking research is set to be a gamechanger for the industry.
Dr Wellings recalls his ‘Eureka moment’ came on March 8, 2023, when he discovered a way to dissolve Fmoc-amino acids in water.
SpheriTech has now entered an agreement with Swiss biotech company Bachem AG, which is a world leader in the sector, to commercialise the process.
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John Lewis, managing director of SOG Group which owns and operates The Heath Business and Technical Park, said: “This is fantastic news for Don Wellings and SpheriTech.
“It is yet another example of the marvellous and very innovative research and development being undertaken by the many science businesses operating in the laboratories at The Heath.”