Direct Pharmaceuticals

Direct Pharmaceuticals was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of targeted oncology therapeutics. The company's lead program was vintafolide (EC145), a folate-targeted conjugate designed to deliver a potent chemotherapy agent directly to cancer cells overexpressing the folate receptor. Direct Pharmaceuticals held certain development and commercialization rights to vintafolide before the program was advanced through a major partnership with Merck & Co. and eventually consolidated under Endocyte. The company's efforts were centered on addressing high unmet needs in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and specific lung cancer populations.