Sanofi Licenses ABL Bio’s Bispecific Antibody for Parkinson’s Disease

Sanofi is paying $75 million upfront and $985 million in milestones for a global license to ABL Bio’s bispecific antibody for Parkinson’s disease (PD).  

ABL, a South Korean firm, will lead preclinical and Phase 1 development of ABL301. Sanofi will take over later clinical trials, regulatory submission and marketing of the drug worldwide. 

ABL could also receive royalties based on net sales of the drug. 

ABL301 Penetrates Blood Brain Barrier and Targets Alpha Synuclein

The blood brain barrier (BBB) presents a challenge to drugs developed for the central nervous system, as they must cross in sufficient quantities to exhibit meaningful effect. 

With that in mind, ABL301 is a preclinical bispecific antibody designed to penetrate the BBB. It consists of an anti-alpha synuclein antibody and Grabody-B, a BBB-penetrating shuttle that targets the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R). Activation of IGF1R stimulates the transport of macromolecules, in this case ABL301, across the BBB.

Studies on rodents and non-human primates have shown that bispecific antibodies with the Grabody-B component have superior BBB penetration and efficacy compared to monoclonal antibodies. 

ABL301’s other target, alpha-synuclein, is a hallmark of PD. Mutations in the gene that encodes for alpha-synuclein results in abnormal proteins that misfold and clump together, forming amyloid fibrils that are toxic to neurons.

Many pharmas have entered the race to treat PD by targeting alpha-synuclein, on the basis that reducing levels of the protein could slow disease progression. 

On Wednesday, Vaxxinity announced that it has dosed its first patient in a Phase 1b trial of its peptide vaccine against alpha-synuclein. 

A recent partnership between Novartis and UCB last December will see the two companies jointly develop a small molecule and a monoclonal antibody that target alpha-synuclein. 

Meanwhile, Roche and Prothena are running a Phase 2 trial of prasinezumab, an anti-alpha-synuclein antibody. The program had suffered a setback after it missed the primary endpoint of slowing the progression of motor and non-motor symptoms across a year’s course of treatment, but the companies decided to advance it to Phase 2b efficacy trials anyways, based on promising data on secondary endpoints and exploratory measures.

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Joy Lin

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