Quotient Sciences Supports Crinetics Pharmaceuticals with Fully Integrated Paediatric Development and Clinical Testing Programme

30 March, 2023 – Nottingham, UK – Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company that develops therapies for rare endocrine diseases, and Quotient Sciences, a drug development and manufacturing accelerator, have announced a partnership to support Crinetics’ CRN04894 paediatric programme. The partnership will utilise Quotient Sciences’ unique Translational Pharmaceutics® platform to provide integrated formulation development, clinical manufacturing and taste assessment studies to accelerate Crinetics’ development timeline.

Crinetics is currently developing CRN04894 as an investigational, oral, non-peptide product candidate designed to antagonise the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) receptor, intended for the treatment of diseases caused by excess ACTH, including Cushing’s disease and congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). The paediatric formulation is an oral solution in development for children under two years of age that requires flavouring and sweetening to improve palatability.

Quotient Sciences has over 30 years of experience in paediatric formulation development and taste assessment studies. To support Crinetics’ CRN04894 paediatric program, Quotient Sciences will carry out an integrated, real-time adaptive GMP clinical manufacturing campaign alongside a phase 1 clinical study in healthy volunteer subjects to assess the taste and palatability of several oral solution formulations. The development programme will evaluate different flavouring agents and sweetener levels in order to identify the optimal formulation.

"There is an art to the development of taste-masked oral products for paediatric indications,” said R Scott Struthers, PhD, founder and CEO of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals. “Quotient Sciences’ expertise in improving the taste, smell and texture of oral formulations makes them the ideal partner for Crinetics’ paediatric clinical programmes.”

Mark Egerton, PhD, CEO of Quotient Sciences, added: “We are delighted to partner with Crinetics to support the development and clinical testing for CRN04894. With the industry focused on developing acceptable and palatable paediatric formulations to address patient need and regulatory requirements, we are fortunate that our integrated Translational Pharmaceutics platform offers customers the opportunity to accelerate their development timelines, so that patients can access much-needed medicines faster.”

About Quotient Sciences
Quotient Sciences is a drug development and manufacturing accelerator providing integrated programmes and tailored services across the entire development pathway. Cutting through silos across a range of drug development capabilities, we save precious time and money in getting drugs to patients. Everything we do for our customers is driven by an unswerving belief that ideas need to become solutions, and molecules need to become cures, fast. Because humanity needs solutions, fast. For more information, please visit quotientsciences.com.

About Crinetics Pharmaceuticals
Crinetics Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialisation of novel therapeutics for endocrine diseases and endocrine-related tumours. Paltusotine, an investigational, oral somatostatin receptor type 2 (SST2) agonist, is in phase 3 clinical development for acromegaly and phase 2 clinical development for carcinoid syndrome associated with neuroendocrine tumours. Crinetics has demonstrated pharmacologic proof-of-concept in phase 1 clinical studies for CRN04777, an investigational, oral somatostatin receptor type 5 (SST5) agonist in development for congenital hyperinsulinism, and for CRN04894, an investigational, oral ACTH antagonist in development for the treatment of Cushing’s disease, congenital adrenal hyperplasia and other diseases of excess ACTH. All of the company’s drug candidates are orally delivered, small molecule new chemical entities resulting from in-house drug discovery efforts. Please visit: www.crinetics.com.