AbbVie and Aliada Therapeutics have inked an acquisition deal under which AbbVie will acquire all outstanding equity of Aliada for a total of $1.4 billion. Following the acquisition, AbbVie will take over the development of Aliada’s pipeline of drugs targeting difficult to treat diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).
Aliada Therapeutics’ modular delivery (MODEL) platform is designed to deliver large molecules across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The platform makes use of binders that target the transferrin (TfR) and CD98 receptors found in brain endothelial cells, which are key components of the BBB. These binders are able to deliver different types of biological therapeutics across the BBB and into the brain with high precision.
The company’s lead drug candidate, ALIA-1758, is an antibody drug targeting pyroglutamate amyloid beta, which results in the degradation and elimination of the amyloid beta plaques typical of Alzheimer’s disease. The candidate is currently being evaluated in a phase 1 clinical trial.
"Neuroscience is one of our key growth areas and we are committed to driving innovation in this field to address critical unmet needs for patients living with seriously debilitating neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease," said Roopal Thakkar, Chief Scientific Officer at AbbVie.
"This acquisition immediately positions us to advance ALIA-1758, a potentially best-in-class disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer's disease. In addition, Aliada's novel BBB-crossing technology strengthens our R&D capabilities to accelerate the development of next-generation therapies for neurological disorders and other diseases where enhanced delivery of therapeutics into the CNS is beneficial."
Based in Boston, US, Aliada Therapeutics was founded in 2021 by Johnson & Johnson together with venture capital firm RA Capital Management. The company’s MODEL platform was originally created at Johnson & Johnson and licensed to Aliada when it was created.
"We are excited about AbbVie's commitment to bringing ALIA-1758 to patients with Alzheimer's disease. Our proprietary MODEL platform has enabled the development of ALIA-1758, a promising step forward in brain delivery of an anti-amyloid antibody therapy," said Michael Ryan, Chief Medical Officer at Aliada Therapeutics.
"Many promising CNS-targeted therapies fail to reach late-stage trials due to their inability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Our MODEL platform addresses this challenge directly, efficiently delivering targeted drugs and potentially transforming how we treat neurological diseases."
