Enlight Biosciences forms new oral drug delivery technology company

Entrega, Inc., a new company developing oral drug delivery technologies, today announced its formation by Enlight Biosciences, a Boston-based company established in partnership with a group of leading global pharmaceutical companies. As part of its initial development program, Entrega will use its unique spatially-directed proprietary drug delivery platform to create orally bioavailable formulations of several of the biologic drugs of Enlight's pharmaceutical industry partners, for which Entrega will receive undisclosed payments including upfront and research milestone payments.  Entrega will remain independent and retain all rights to the platform technology.

"Entrega's technology could have a major impact on medicine by enabling the oral delivery of drugs that would typically require injection," said Dr. Robert Langer, David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT, Entrega SAB Chair. "The relationship with pharma will support Entrega's unique technology and strengthen the platform significantly."  

Biologic drugs (biologics), such as insulin and antibodies, represent over $120 Billion in annual revenues and address major medical needs in areas such as cancer and inflammatory disease.  However, most biologics need to be delivered by injection, which leads to challenges in compliance and effectiveness. The ability to deliver biologics orally would address a significant unmet need for patients around the world. Entrega's proprietary drug delivery technology offers an innovative approach to deliver a wide variety of peptides and proteins via oral administration.

Entrega, Inc. was formed by Enlight Biosciences, a unique entrepreneurial collaboration to discover and develop platform technologies that will have a transformational impact on drug discovery and development.  "Enlight's innovative model, bringing together pharma companies and academic innovators, is addressing what has fundamentally been one of the foremost challenges in drug delivery," said Dr. Bennett Shapiro, former EVP of Worldwide Research at Merck, and currently PureTech Ventures Senior Partner, and Enlight Board member. Enlight was founded by PureTech Ventures and a group of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies.