Deal for a New Drug.
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Biotechnology giant Genentech has signed a licensing deal worth up to $300 million for a potential Alzheimer's disease treatment being developed by AC Immune of Switzerland, the companies announced Thursday. The deal involves AC Immune's early-stage research into fighting Alzheimer's by coaxing the patient's immune system to create antibodies against the beta amyloid protein, which causes a sticky plaque believed to inhibit brain functions.
South San Francisco-based Genentech already has a variety of treatments for everything from cancer and psoriasis to arthritis and asthma. Even so, "we're always open to pursuing research in other areas," said Genentech spokeswoman Caroline Pecquet. "This is just part of our business development strategy."
In October, Genentech announced it would pay CGI Pharmaceuticals of Branford, Conn., up to $500 million for treatments CGI is developing for cancer and autoimmune ailments. And in July, Genentech announced a similar deal worth up to $405 million with Inotek Pharmaceuticals of Beverly, Mass., for a cancer treatment Inotek is working on.
Under the licensing deal with AC Immune, Genentech will make payments potentially totaling $300 million if AC Immune meets milestones in developing the Alzheimer's treatment. The companies didn't explain what those milestones were. They also did not disclose how much money South San Francisco-based Genentech would pay initially or the length of the licensing arrangement. Genentech has a manufacturing facility in Vacaville.
The signing of the contract yesterday signalled the start of the active phase of the EU MimoVax project. The project is part of the sixth EU Framework Programme and is seeking to develop an Alzheimer's vaccine that targets specific types of beta-amyloid, the causative agent of Alzheimer's disease. MimoVax is now pursuing an additional strategy. The project aims to investigate whether an immune reaction can also be induced against other, rarer, forms of beta-amyloid. Indeed, not all peptides in the plaques consist of 40 or 42 amino acids. Mechanical stress or enzymes can cause some amino acids to break down or can alter their chemical composition. Although these modified peptides are also a suitable point of attack for novel treatment strategies, no relevant development programme has been started to date. MimoVax is now changing this.
It was a technology from Affiris GmbH that proved decisive in securing approval for the project. This technology enables scientists to get round a key problem posed by vaccines against degenerated human proteins such as beta-amyloid – the development of autoimmune reaction. By carefully selecting the correct peptides for the vaccine, Affiris GmbH's mimotope technology enables a precise immune reaction to be implemented against only the degenerated form of the protein, and for this to be done without attacking the natural form. This principle has already been proven in the first vaccine developed by Affiris.
Alzheimer's Donation
Donate Online Now
.
Biotechnology giant Genentech has signed a licensing deal worth up to $300 million for a potential Alzheimer's disease treatment being developed by AC Immune of Switzerland, the companies announced Thursday. The deal involves AC Immune's early-stage research into fighting Alzheimer's by coaxing the patient's immune system to create antibodies against the beta amyloid protein, which causes a sticky plaque believed to inhibit brain functions.
South San Francisco-based Genentech already has a variety of treatments for everything from cancer and psoriasis to arthritis and asthma. Even so, "we're always open to pursuing research in other areas," said Genentech spokeswoman Caroline Pecquet. "This is just part of our business development strategy."
In October, Genentech announced it would pay CGI Pharmaceuticals of Branford, Conn., up to $500 million for treatments CGI is developing for cancer and autoimmune ailments. And in July, Genentech announced a similar deal worth up to $405 million with Inotek Pharmaceuticals of Beverly, Mass., for a cancer treatment Inotek is working on.
Under the licensing deal with AC Immune, Genentech will make payments potentially totaling $300 million if AC Immune meets milestones in developing the Alzheimer's treatment. The companies didn't explain what those milestones were. They also did not disclose how much money South San Francisco-based Genentech would pay initially or the length of the licensing arrangement. Genentech has a manufacturing facility in Vacaville.
The signing of the contract yesterday signalled the start of the active phase of the EU MimoVax project. The project is part of the sixth EU Framework Programme and is seeking to develop an Alzheimer's vaccine that targets specific types of beta-amyloid, the causative agent of Alzheimer's disease. MimoVax is now pursuing an additional strategy. The project aims to investigate whether an immune reaction can also be induced against other, rarer, forms of beta-amyloid. Indeed, not all peptides in the plaques consist of 40 or 42 amino acids. Mechanical stress or enzymes can cause some amino acids to break down or can alter their chemical composition. Although these modified peptides are also a suitable point of attack for novel treatment strategies, no relevant development programme has been started to date. MimoVax is now changing this.
It was a technology from Affiris GmbH that proved decisive in securing approval for the project. This technology enables scientists to get round a key problem posed by vaccines against degenerated human proteins such as beta-amyloid – the development of autoimmune reaction. By carefully selecting the correct peptides for the vaccine, Affiris GmbH's mimotope technology enables a precise immune reaction to be implemented against only the degenerated form of the protein, and for this to be done without attacking the natural form. This principle has already been proven in the first vaccine developed by Affiris.
posted by Valery Yermalitsky at
6:14 AM
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