Starton Therapeutics and Bend Bioscience Enter into Development Agreement for Oral Controlled Release Dosage Form of STAR-LLD (lenalidomide)

PARAMUS, N.J., June 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Starton Therapeutics Inc. (“Starton”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company transforming standard-of-care therapies with proprietary continuous delivery technologies, today announced a collaboration agreement with Bend Bioscience (“Bend”), a leading innovation, science, and pharmaceutical services partner, whereby Bend will provide drug delivery R&D support and manufacturing capabilities for Starton’s lead candidate, STAR-LLD, a proprietary oral sustained release dosage form of lenalidomide.

“We are excited to enter into this agreement with Bend for the development of an oral sustained release formulation of STAR-LLD,” said Pedro Lichtinger, Chairman and CEO of Starton. “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. While the branded lenalidomide product remains a cornerstone treatment for multiple myeloma, the approved oral formulation of the drug is associated with hematologic side effects in some patients. By giving less drug continuously, STAR-LLD may improve the therapeutic index of lenalidomide allowing for better treatment outcomes.”

Starton is entering this strategic partnership based on Bend’s expertise in controlled release formulation, manufacturing process, and analytical method development, as well as clinical and commercial manufacturing of solid oral dosage forms. Under the agreement, Bend will develop an optimized oral STAR-LLD tablet by leveraging and building upon Starton’s intellectual property and deep understanding of delivering lenalidomide on a continuous basis from prior clinical trials. The collaboration will focus on enhancing the product’s performance and scalability, with Bend leading the scale-up and commercial manufacturing efforts.

“Bend’s proven expertise in formulation and manufacturing complements our innovation and understanding of how to reduce toxicity and improve efficacy of lenalidomide and we’re eager to partner with them,” said Andy Rensink, Starton’s Chief Manufacturing Officer.

“Bend Bioscience is committed to improving patients’ lives by delivering innovative drug products,” added Owen Murray, CEO of Bend. “This collaboration underscores our commitment to supporting our partners from early development through commercial production. Our reputation for progressing medicines to clinical and commercial manufacturing is a testament of our commitment to strong science, exceptional quality, and positive outcomes for our customers and their patients. We are excited to be a part of Starton’s story, and to see STAR-LLD potentially reach patients in need.”

About STAR-LLD

STAR-LLD is a continuous delivery lenalidomide (LLD) in development to expand and replace the standard-of-care for the most common blood cancers, multiple myeloma (MM), and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). A preclinical proof-of-concept study for subcutaneous STAR-LLD demonstrated that MM tumors caused by human myeloma cells grew 25-fold if untreated, five-fold when treated with daily lenalidomide, and shrank by 80% with STAR-LLD over a single 28-day cycle. The study also showed a 100% overall response rate (ORR) using continuous delivery LLD and 20% of animals in this cohort were tumor-free after 100 days, compared to a 0% ORR in animals treated with a 70% higher dose of lenalidomide given in single daily doses. In addition, a Phase 1b clinical study of six relapsed/refractory MM patients resulted in all patients that received STAR-LLD achieving an objective response (1 CR and 5 PRs); no patients experienced drug-related anemia, neutropenia, leukopenia, or thrombocytopenia greater than grade 2 in up to 12 cycles of therapy. The study concluded that continuous delivery of low dose lenalidomide (STAR-LLD) provides meaningful efficacy and improved tolerability with no grade > 2 drug-related hematologic toxicity.

About Starton Therapeutics

Starton Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology platform company focused on transforming standard-of-care therapies with proprietary continuous delivery technology, so people with cancer live better, for longer. Starton’s proprietary technology is intended to increase the efficacy of approved drugs, make them more tolerable, and expand their potential use. To learn more, visit www.startontx.com.

About Bend Bioscience

Bend Bioscience is a small molecule drug product CDMO offering enabling technology expertise and capabilities from pre-clinical to commercial scale. Bend’s drug delivery expertise and infrastructure includes bioavailability enhancement, controlled release, and particle engineering technologies. Providing clients with the highest levels of service and science, Bend combines the broad capabilities and reliability of an established CDMO with the creative solutions and flexibility of a technology partner. To learn more, visit www.bendbioscience.com.

Forward Looking Statements

All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release, including, without limitation, statements regarding our plans and objectives for future operations and expectations about current and future clinical trials, constitute “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions and known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those included within the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, and except as required by law, Starton undertakes no obligation to disclose any revision to these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact

Alex Starr
Managing Director
LifeSci Advisors
astarr@lifesciadvisors.com

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