Medisorb® Technology

Alkermes’ proprietary, injectable extended-release technology, called the Medisorb® technology, enables us to develop treatments that sustain effective levels of medication in the body over a prolonged time period. We have two commercial products based on this technology, RISPERDAL® CONSTA® and VIVITROL®.

Our extended-release technology allows us to encapsulate small molecules, peptides and proteins in microspheres made of biodegradable polymers. With extended-release profiles lasting from days to months, these microspheres are designed to eliminate the need for frequent dosing. 

Alkermes’ extended-release technology is distinguished by:

• Clinically-proven extended-release of medication from microspheres in humans
• Demonstrated safety and tolerability in human clinical trials
• Potential to improve patient adherence to therapy, especially where extended-release dosage administration is an important factor for the selection of a medication for treatment
• Broad applicability to small molecules, peptides and proteins
• Demonstrated manufacturing capability at laboratory scale, pilot scale and commercial manufacturing scale, in compliance with cGMPs
• Ability to achieve a customized extended-release profile lasting from days to months

AIR® Technology

Alkermes’ pulmonary drug delivery technology, called the AIR® technology, offers a unique, proprietary delivery system for optimized drug delivery to the lungs. First published in the journal, Science, our technology represents a major innovation among pulmonary delivery systems. We are currently developing ALKS 27 based on this technology.

The pulmonary delivery system can provide efficient dry-powder delivery of small molecule, peptide, protein and other macromolecule drug particles to the deep lung, with significant advantages over other delivery methods.

Benefits include:

• Systemic delivery of small molecules, peptides, proteins, and other macromolecules
• Local or targeted delivery of wide dosage range
• A small, easy-to-use delivery device
• Proven scalability and commercial-scale production of drug
• Demonstrated safety and tolerability in large-scale human clinical trials

Medifusion ™ Technology

Alkermes’ proprietary long-acting Fc fusion technology platform, called the Medifusion™ technology, is designed to extend the circulating half-life of proteins and peptides in order to create an effective, long-acting injectable medication. The Medifusion technology is able to extend the half-life of proteins and peptides through the combined action of Fc fusion and hyperglycosylation. The resulting extended systemic half-life of the therapeutic compound allows for reduced dosing frequency. We are currently developing ALKS 6931 based on this technology.

Alkermes’ Medifusion technology is distinguished by:

• Systemic delivery of Fc fusion peptides and proteins
• Potential to achieve a customized extended-release profile lasting from days to months
• Potential to improve patient adherence to therapy, especially where extended-release dosage administration is an important factor for the selection of a medication for treatment

LinkeRx ™ Technology

Alkermes’ long-acting proprietary LinkeRx™ technology platform enables the creation of extended-release injectable versions of antipsychotic therapies and may also be useful in other disease areas in which long action may provide therapeutic benefits. The technology uses proprietary linker-tail chemistry to create New Molecular Entities (NMEs) derived from known agents. These NMEs are designed to have improved clinical utility, manufacturing and ease-of-use compared to other long-acting medications. We are currently developing ALKS 9070 using this technology.

Alkermes’ LinkeRx technology is distinguished by:

• Potential to achieve an extended-release profile lasting from days to months
• Potential to improve patient adherence to therapy, especially where extended-release dosage administration is an important factor for the selection of a medication for treatment