AbbVie has agreed to spend $1.4 billion to purchase Aliada Therapeutics. Through this acquisition, AbbVie will be able to build upon the first class of anti-amyloid-beta antibodies by gaining ownership of the Alzheimer’s disease treatment candidate Aliada, which is currently under license from Johnson & Johnson.
Pyroglutamate amyloid beta is a version of the peptide that may be discovered in the brains of individuals who have Alzheimer’s disease. Aliada is working on producing an antibody that can bind to this peptide. There are other compounds aimed at pyroglutamate amyloid beta, such as Kisunla from Eli Lilly; however, Aliada’s ALIA-1758 has a unique twist that distinguishes it from other molecules. The candidate takes advantage of a process that continuously moves molecules across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in order to achieve the highest possible absorption in the tissues that are being targeted.
Aliada, whose headquarters are located in Boston, began a phase 1 study in healthy volunteers in May, and the company is now in the first stages of attempting to confirm the concept in human subjects. However, AbbVie has already seen enough to establish the worth of $1.4 billion on ALIA-1758 and the delivery infrastructure that was the source of the program’s creation.
After receiving intermediate phase 2 results, AbbVie decided to discontinue its internal anti-amyloid-beta antibody, ABBV-916. Based on the findings, it was determined that ABBV-916 has a safety and effectiveness profile comparable to that of authorized Alzheimer’s medications. As a result, the firm opted against bringing an undifferentiated product to market late. With the chemical known as ALIA-1758, the company has acquired what it considers to be the best-in-class compound.
The development of ALIA-1758 is the result of efforts to hijack processes that transport big molecules over the blood-brain barrier without releasing the neurotoxic consequences linked with some of the earlier attempts. While J&J provided funding for the study of the platform, Aliada was given the opportunity to advance the science. In the last several years, Aliada has been working in the background to get ALIA-1758 into the clinic. Now, the company has successfully negotiated a swift exit for its investors.
ALIA-1758 is not the sole component that adds value to the deal for AbbVie. The BBB is a possible barrier to the successful treatment of many disorders that might be of interest to the pharmaceutical, making neuroscience an important therapeutic area for AbbVie. The BBB is a potential obstacle to the successful management of many conditions. AbbVie will be able to investigate the use of the technology in a more comprehensive manner if it incorporates Aliada’s Modular Delivery platform into its arsenal.
The competitors of AbbVie in the field of neuroscience, including Alzheimer’s disease and other indications, have access to different BBB technologies. At the start of this month, Eli Lilly got access to the technology that Qinotto uses. Eisai also reached an agreement to collaborate on a candidate that makes use of BioArctic BrainTransporter technology earlier this year, while Roche has been responsible for the development of the Brainshuttle technology.
