Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis has been a tough area for drug research, but Eli Lilly has been spreading its bets in this neurodegenerative disease by striking deals with other companies. The pharmaceutical giant is adding to its stable of ALS drug candidates with a licensing agreement that brings a novel antibody on track to begin testing in humans.
According to deal terms announced Tuesday, Lilly is licensing Alchemab’s ATLX-1282, an antibody that the companies say brings a first-in-class approach to ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. Specific financial details were not disclosed, but Lilly is committing up to $415 million to its partner, which includes an upfront payment and milestone payments.
Cambridge, England-based Alchemab discovers and develops drugs with a platform technology that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to analyze the human immune response. The technology then identifies antibodies associated with resilience to diseases in areas such as neurodegeneration, immunology, oncology, and healthy aging. The company says it has sequenced and analyzed millions of antibody sequences to reveal novel targets and antibodies with unique mechanisms of action.
ATLX-1282 targets UNC5C, Alchemab states on its website. Abnormal expression of this gene is associated with neurodegenerative diseases. ATLX-1282 was developed from the identification of a target important in neuroprotection spanning multiple neurodegenerative disorders, including ALS and frontotemporal dementia. Alchemab’s internal pipeline includes preclinical programs in development for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and muscle atrophy.
Under the terms of the ATLX-1282 agreement, Alchemab is responsible for advancing the antibody through Phase 1 testing. Lilly will take the lead on further clinical development and potential commercialization if the drug reaches the market. Lilly agreed to pay royalties on sales of an approved drug. The two companies began working together in January, striking an agreement to develop up to five ALS drugs stemming from the startup’s drug discovery technology. The pharma giant paid an unspecified upfront sum and agreed to additional milestone payments.
“With Lilly’s deep expertise in neurological conditions, they are ideally placed to speedily advance ATLX-1282 through the clinic, and maximize the potential to help patients,” Alchemab CEO Jane Osbourn said in a prepared statement.
Lilly’s neurodegeneration portfolio is anchored by the Alzheimer’s drug Kisunla, which received FDA approval last July. That antibody drug was internally discovered and developed within Lilly. In ALS, the pharma giant has looked externally to find drug prospects. Last June, Lilly licensed global rights to QRL-204, an antisense oligonucleotide that QurAlis designed to restore UNC13A function in ALS, frontotemporal dementia, and other neurodegenerative diseases. Lilly paid $45 million up front for the preclinical drug candidate along with an equity investment. QurAlis could receive up to $577 million in milestone payments.
Verge Genomics is another ALS research partner. In 2021, Lilly agreed to pay $25 million to begin an alliance with the startup, which uses AI to analyze its database of human brain tissue in order to identify potential drug targets. Lilly is also an investor in Verge as a participant in the biotech’s $98 million Series B financing. Last fall, Verge announced Lilly had opted to develop drugs against two undisclosed targets for ALS that were identified and validated by the startup’s technology. That move triggered milestone payments, though Verge did not disclose how much.
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