Starton Therapeutics Partners with Bend Bioscience on STAR-LLD Manufacturing

• Starton Therapeutics has entered into a collaboration with Bend Bioscience for the development and manufacturing of STAR-LLD, its sustained release oral formulation of lenalidomide.

• Bend will support research and development, scale-up, and commercial manufacturing activities under the agreement.

Starton Therapeutics Inc. has announced a collaboration agreement with Bend Bioscience to support drug delivery research and development for STAR-LLD, the company’s lead candidate and proprietary oral sustained release formulation of lenalidomide.

The partnership brings together Bend Bioscience’s expertise in formulation and manufacturing with Starton’s intellectual property and clinical data. The collaboration will focus on optimising the oral STAR-LLD tablet and preparing it for commercial-scale production.

Bend will provide controlled release formulation, analytical method development, and both clinical and commercial manufacturing services for the solid oral dosage form. The companies aim to improve the performance and scalability of the product.

Pedro Lichtinger, Chairman and CEO of Starton, said: “This oral formulation of STAR-LLD not only has the potential to demonstrate superior tolerability and efficacy but could also improve patient compliance and convenience.”

According to the announcement, STAR-LLD may offer a better therapeutic index compared to the approved lenalidomide oral formulation by enabling lower, continuous drug delivery, which could reduce certain side effects. While the press release does not specify timelines, the collaboration appears to cover activities from R&D through to commercial manufacturing, positioning Bend in a contract manufacturing (CDMO) role within the partnership.