Molecular Partners Signs Development Agreement with Eckert & Ziegler for Targeted Alpha Radiotherapeutics
ZURICH-SCHLIEREN, Switzerland and CONCORD, Mass., Feb. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Molecular Partners AG (SIX: MOLN; NASDAQ: MOLN), a clinical-stage biotech company developing a novel class of custom-built protein drugs known as DARPin therapeutics (“Molecular Partners” or the “Company”), today announced it has entered into an agreement with Eckert & Ziegler, leading specialist in isotope-related components for nuclear medicine and radiation therapy, to enable the development and manufacturing of Radio-DARPin therapeutics.
“We are pleased to work with Eckert & Ziegler, a global leader in radiopharmaceutical manufacturing. This agreement will expand the potential of Radio-DARPins as vectors for precise delivery of therapeutic alpha-emitting isotopes to tumors, now including Actinium-225, in addition to Lead-212 through our long-term strategic partnership with Orano Med,” said Alexander Zürcher, COO of Molecular Partners. He added: “The promise of Radio-DARPins is underlined by the progress of our lead candidate MP0712, targeting DLL3, having just opened the Phase 1/2a trial for the treatment of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC)”.
Under the non-exclusive agreement, Eckert & Ziegler will support Molecular Partners with a comprehensive range of services covering development activities for Radio-DARPins with Actinium-225 (225Ac) and Lutetium-177 (177Lu) payloads. The development agreement will leverage Eckert & Ziegler’s state-of-the-art laboratories, including its newly established Alpha Laboratory in Berlin, Germany, dedicated exclusively to work with alpha emitters.
For its growing Radio-DARPin pipeline, Molecular Partners is evaluating various radio-nuclides to tailor Radio-DARPin candidates to patient needs – matching vector and isotope properties with target and disease biology. The Company plans to present pre-clinical data on Radio-DARPins’ suitability with multiple isotopes at the 3rd Global Radiopharmaceuticals Development Summit in March 2026 in Shanghai, China.
Eckert & Ziegler is a globally leading specialist for isotope-related components in nuclear medicine and radiation therapy, offering a broad range of services and products from early development work to contract manufacturing and distribution.
“Supporting highly innovative companies such as Molecular Partners in developing their promising technology platforms is a key objective of our group,” said Dr. Harald Hasselmann, CEO of Eckert & Ziegler. “Bringing together our expertise in isotopes, radiochemistry and development infrastructure with our partners’ innovations will enable patients worldwide to benefit from new treatments in the future.”
About Radio-DARPins
Molecular Partners’ Radio-DARPins are designed as ideal vectors for precise delivery of potent alpha-emitting isotopes to tumor lesions and have the potential to unlock a broad range of tumor targets for targeted radiopharmaceuticals. Building on the DARPins’ unique properties, Molecular Partners has developed a proprietary Radio-DARPin platform to address historic limitations of radioligand therapy, such as kidney accumulation and toxicity, and suboptimal tumor uptake. Molecular Partners’ Radio-DARPins addresses these limitations through half-life extension technologies and surface engineering approaches, while preserving the advantages of the small protein format.
About DARPin Therapeutics
DARPin (Designed Ankyrin Repeat Protein) therapeutics are a novel class of protein drugs based on natural binding proteins, which have been clinically-validated across several therapeutic areas and developed through to the registrational stage. The key properties of DARPins – intrinsic potential for high affinity and specificity, as well as small size, flexible architecture, and high stability – offer unmatched advantages to drug design, such as multispecificity, broad target range, and tunable half-life. The Company’s Radio-DARPins enable highly effective and specific delivery of potent radioactive payloads to tumor lesions while sparing healthy tissues. Molecular Partners’ Switch-DARPins allow conditional, tumor-localized immune activation, which enables increased safety and potency for next-generation immune cell engagers. Powered by twenty years of DARPin leadership, Molecular Partners has built an innovative, rapid and cost-effective DARPin drug design engine, including proprietary DARPin libraries and platforms, for candidates produced with optimized properties and tailored to therapeutic needs.
About Molecular Partners AG
Molecular Partners AG (SIX: MOLN, NASDAQ: MOLN) is a clinical-stage biotech company pioneering a novel class of protein drugs known as DARPin therapeutics, for medical challenges other treatment modalities cannot readily address. Molecular Partners leverages the key properties of DARPins to design and develop differentiated therapeutics for cancer patients, including targeted radiopharmaceuticals and next-generation immune cell engagers. The Company has proprietary programs in various stages of pre-clinical and clinical development, as well as programs developed through partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies and academic centers. Molecular Partners, founded in 2004, has offices in both Zurich, Switzerland and Concord, MA, USA. For more information, visit www.molecularpartners.com and find us on LinkedIn and Twitter / X @MolecularPrtnrs