ABL Bio and GSK announced a worldwide licensing agreement to develop neurodegenerative disease medicines using ABL’s blood-brain barrier (BBB) shuttle platform, Grabody-B. South Korean firm ABL Bio will receive about $100M in upfront and near-term payments. The total value of the deal could be $2.5B.
The two companies are pursuing novel targets with drug candidates including antibodies, polynucleotides, or oligonucleotides, such as siRNA and ASOs, for neurodegenerative conditions.
The BBB is a protective barrier that restricts entry into the brain. It is considered a significant obstacle in the development of treatments for neurological diseases. ABL Bio’s Grabody-B targets the Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 Receptor (IGF1R) to allow drug penetration across the BBB and enable efficient delivery into the brain.
Besides the $100M or so ABL will receive in upfront and near-term payments, ABL is eligible to receive in total up to $2.5 billion in research, development, regulatory, and commercialization milestone payments across multiple potential programs. The biotech will also receive tiered royalties on net sales if products are successfully commercialized.
As part of the agreement, ABL Bio will transfer Grabody-B-related technology and know-how to GSK, while GSK will assume responsibility for preclinical and clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization.
Christopher Austin, svp of research technologies, GSK, said, “There is a critical need for new therapeutics to treat neurodegenerative brain diseases, which are rapidly increasing in prevalence due to the aging of the population. Many of the most promising new therapies are antibodies, which cannot efficiently reach the brain without a shuttle to get them across the BBB. This agreement reflects our commitment to innovative platform technologies to overcome the BBB and thus open entirely new opportunities for treating these devastating diseases, an important component of our emerging pipeline.”
Sang Hoon Lee, CEO of ABL Bio, said “This agreement underscores ABL Bio’s leadership in BBB technology and its commitment to advancing transformative therapeutics in neurodegenerative diseases through strategic partnership with global pharmaceutical leaders like GSK.”
He added, “Additionally, this agreement will serve as a great opportunity to strengthen ABL Bio’s position in the neurodegenerative disease treatment market through the potential commercialization of Grabody-B and to expand the modality areas where Grabody-B can be utilized. Given the increasing number of patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, we hope this partnership will accelerate the development of innovative treatments and bring renewed hope to patients worldwide.”
Using its bispecific antibody platform, Grabody, ABL has built a pipeline that includes seven clinical projects. One of these, mABL001 (tovecimig), has been granted Fast Track designation by the FDA.
