Biogen, Dayra Launch $50 Million Pact to Develop Oral Macrocyclic Peptides for Immunology

Overview

• Dayra receives a $50 million upfront payment, with Biogen holding options to acquire development candidates per program and Dayra eligible for preclinical and clinical milestones.
• The collaboration focuses on discovering, validating, and optimizing oral macrocycle candidates for high-priority immunological targets before potential handoff to Biogen for later development and commercialization.
• Biogen highlights macrocyclic peptides as a modality that may deliver biologic-like specificity and safety in an oral format and reach protein sites considered challenging for traditional small molecules.
• Biogen will record the upfront payment as an Acquired In-Process R&D expense in the fourth quarter of 2025, already reflected in its updated 2025 guidance.
• Dayra, founded in 2024 by Versant Ventures and launched with more than $70 million, has not disclosed specific targets or clinical candidates under the new collaboration.