Neurimmune AG today announced that it has entered into an exclusive global collaboration and license agreement with Alexion, AstraZeneca’s Rare Disease group, to develop NI006, an investigational human monoclonal antibody specifically targeting misfolded transthyretin. NI006 is currently in Phase Ib development for the treatment of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM).
“ATTR-CM is characterized by deposition of misfolded and aggregated transthyretin in the heart. Using our Reverse Translational MedicineTM technology, we developed a human monoclonal antibody that exclusively targets ATTR to remove amyloid from hearts,” said Jan Grimm, CSO of Neurimmune.
Neurimmune is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company translating human immune memory into antibody therapeutics. The company has gained extensive experience in amyloid removal biology and is licensing to Alexion its intellectual property related to diseases caused by ATTR amyloid deposition. NI006 is currently being investigated in a Phase 1b clinical study in ATTR-CM patients conducted in four European countries.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Alexion on this potentially disease-modifying antibody therapy for the treatment of ATTR-CM. Given Alexion’s extensive experience in developing and bringing to market medicines for people with rare diseases, we believe Alexion is uniquely positioned to advance NI006 for patients with this devastating and life-threatening disease,” said Christoph Hock, CMO of Neurimmune.
Under the agreement, Alexion will be granted an exclusive, worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize Neurimmune’s ATTR clinical asset NI006. Neurimmune will receive an upfront payment of $30 million with the potential for additional contingent milestone payments of up to $730 million payable upon achievement of certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones, as well as low-to-mid teen royalties on net sales of any approved medicine resulting from the collaboration. Neurimmune will continue to be responsible for completion of the current Phase 1b clinical study on behalf of Alexion. Alexion will be responsible for further clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization.
The transaction is expected to close following satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances.
About Neurimmune
Neurimmune is a biopharmaceutical company translating human immune memory into transformative antibody therapeutics. Neurimmune develops drug candidates for CNS and related protein aggregation diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and ATTR cardiomyopathy. Neurimmune discovered aducanumab, a human monoclonal antibody that removes amyloid beta from brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, and licensed it to Biogen. With its Reverse Translational MedicineTM technology, Neurimmune also discovered the anti-tau antibody BIIB076 for Alzheimer’s disease, the anti-miSOD1 antibody AP-101 for ALS and the anti-ATTR antibody NI006 for ATTR cardiomyopathy, programs being currently evaluated in clinical trials. Neurimmune has three additional antibody programs in preclinical development, and has recently expanded the spectrum of its treatment modalities by adding a small molecule program and programs involving vectorized expression of human antibody genes.
Contact for Media
Martin Meier-Pfister
+41 43 244 8140
media@neurimmune.com
