Date: 2011-02-28
Type of information: Development agreement
Compound:
Company: Affiris (Austria) GSK (UK)
Therapeutic area: Neurodegenerative diseases
Type agreement: development
Action mechanism:
Disease: Alzheimer's disease
Details: AFFiRiS AG has announced significant progress in their collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK) for the development of an active vaccination programme against Alzheimer´s disease. While the lead vaccine candidate AD02 is currently in phase II clinical testing, two additional preclinical programmes have been completed successfully. The second programme was related to alternative vaccine candidates generated by AFFiRiS´ AFFITOME® technology, including candidate AD03.
Two vaccine candidates, AD01 and AD02, demonstrated satisfactory safety and tolerability profiles in phase I clinical trials and AD02 has already been moved forward into clinical phase II for efficacy testing. All three of AFFiRiS’s Alzheimer\'s vaccine candidates are designed to induce antibodies
targeting the beta-amyloid peptide that is believed to contribute significantly to the pathology of Alzheimer's. With AD03, the third of the candidates, AFFiRiS additionally targets modified beta-amyloid peptides with their putatively different toxicity profiles in humans.
Financial terms: Based on the promising preliminary results of this programme, GSK exercised its option for the alternative vaccine candidates which triggered a € 2.5 million payment to AFFiRiS. An additional € 1 million payment became due simultaneously for the successful completion of tests of alternative vaccine formulations. The collaboration is based on a license and option agreement announced in October 2008. The deal has a total potential value of up to € 430 million plus royalties. € 36 million have already been paid within the framework of this collaboration.
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