Morphic Therapeutic

Morphic Therapeutic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lilly, is developing a portfolio of oral integrin therapies for the treatment of serious chronic diseases, including autoimmune diseases, pulmonary hypertensive diseases and fibrotic diseases.

MORF-057

Morphic's lead program is a selective oral small molecule inhibitor of α4β7 integrin for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that has the potential to improve outcomes and expand treatment options for patients. This molecule (known as MORF-057) is being evaluated in two Phase 2 studies in ulcerative colitis and one Phase 2 study in Crohn's disease.

Integrin Biology

Integrins are the only receptors in the human body that use both intracellular and extracellular ligands to transmit signals both from the inside of the cell to the outside of the cell and from the outside of the cell to the inside of the cell. This bidirectional signaling ability allows integrins to affect virtually every aspect of cell and organ homeostasis. Consequently, the dysregulation of integrin signaling is associated with many human diseases.

The Promise of Integrins

The therapeutic potential of integrins has been widely recognized for years because of their central roles in almost all phases of human biology as well as many diseases. Several intravenous integrin inhibitors have been approved for the treatment of a range of diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, acute coronary syndrome, and dry eye disease.

Unfortunately, the infusible or topical nature of approved integrin therapies significantly restrict their therapeutic potential. This significant medical need drove clinical development of several oral integrin drug candidates which saw repeated toxicity and clinical failure.

Morphic’s MInT Technology Platform

Morphic has created the MInT (Morphic Integrin Technology) Platform to develop new medicines. Integrins are proteins in our bodies that change shape to perform different functions. By understanding how these proteins work, Morphic can control their shapes to treat diseases.

The MInT Platform combines Morphic's expertise in integrin biology, structural analysis, therapeutic design, and development. Morphic's technology can target all 24 types of integrins and includes both inhibitors and activators to regulate their activity.

With a library of over 16,000 unique compunds, Morphic continuously designs new drugs to address current and future health challenges.