Date: 2014-05-12
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: Tau protein diagnostics in Alzheimer’s disease
Company: AC Immune (Switzerland) Piramal Imaging (India)
Therapeutic area: Neurodegenerative diseases
Type agreement: R&D development licenisng commercialisation
Action mechanism:
Disease: Alzheimer’s disease
Details: * On May 12, 2014, AC Immune SA and Piramal Imaging, a division of Piramal Enterprises Ltd., announced that they have entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement for the research, development and commercialization of AC Immune’s Tau protein positron emission tomography (PET) tracers supporting the diagnosis and clinical management of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and potential Tau-related disorders. AC Immune will work in collaboration with Piramal Imaging to efficiently advance several lead candidates through late pre-clinical radio-pharmacology development. Piramal Imaging will have global rights for clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization of a Tau-PET Tracer resulting from the collaboration. Financial details were not disclosed. Prof. Andrea Pfeifer, CEO of AC Immune said: “We are delighted to be working with Piramal Imaging as a partner of choice given their proven experience in PET tracer development, especially in the Alzheimer’s field. The collaboration is an important endorsement of AC Immune’s capacity to develop both diagnostic and therapeutic agents in managing this devastating disease. This move into diagnostics complements our Tau therapeutic product pipeline exemplified by the Tau antibody partnership with Genentech and the first pTau vaccine ACI-35 now in clinical development for AD. Diagnostics is a natural strategic step for the company and is expected to generate significant and fast revenues from product sales.” The agreement between the two companies is based on a long-term relationship in which AC Immune has used Piramal Imaging’s beta-amyloid PET Tracer Neuraceq™ for imaging beta-amyloid plaques in the brain of patients undergoing Phase I/IIa clinical testing of AC Immune´s Alzheimer´s vaccine ACI-24. Neuraceq™ received marketing authorization from the FDA on March 19, 2014 for PET imaging of the brain to estimate beta-amyloid neuritic plaque density in adult patients with cognitive impairment who are being evaluated for AD and other causes of cognitive decline. Safety and effectiveness of Neuraceq™ have not been established for monitoring responses to therapies. Neuraceq™ received similar approval by the EC four weeks earlier.
Financial terms: Under the terms of the agreement, AC Immune will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and is eligible for significant milestone payments on products achieving development goals in AD and other Tauopathies. Additionally, AC Immune is entitled to receive tiered royalties on net sales of products resulting from the partnership.
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