SINGAPORE and MELBOURNE, Australia I May 13, 2014 I ASLAN Pharmaceuticals Pte Ltd today announced a global license agreement to develop CSL Limited's (ASX:CSL) anti-IL13 receptor monoclonal antibody, CSL334, currently in preclinical development for the treatment of asthma.
Under the agreement, ASLAN will fund and develop CSL334 through to clinical proof of concept in a development program conducted primarily in Asia, targeting patients suffering moderate persistent to severe allergic asthma whose disease is not adequately controlled by existing treatments. Upon achievement of clinical proof of concept, ASLAN will identify a global partner for phase 3 development and commercialisation.
"Many patients with moderate and severe asthma still do not have their disease adequately controlled by current therapies, and these patients represent around half of the total burden of asthma worldwide," said Dr Mark McHale, ASLAN's Chief Operating Officer. "Some major companies are now pursuing strategies to help these patients, many of whom live in fear of their next serious exacerbation. As one of the leaders in the biologics industry, CSL have developed a unique approach to controlling the pathways responsible for this disease."
"The IL-13 receptor signalling pathway plays a critical role in allergic airway disease, and CSL has had an interest in inhibiting this target since it was first identified at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia. This led CSL scientists to discover and optimise the monoclonal antibody inhibitor known as CSL334," commented Andrew Nash, CSL's Senior Vice President, Research. "ASLAN's focus on efficiently designing and executing innovative clinical strategies, combined with its teams experience in asthma drug development, make it the ideal partner for moving this therapy forwards."
CSL will be entitled to share returns generated by ASLAN from partnering the project. Further financial details were not disclosed.
About CSL334 inhibitor
CSL334 is a fully human monoclonal antibody against interleukin-13 receptor α1 that has been shown to block binding and signal transduction of both IL4 and IL13. CSL334 is currently in preclinical development.
About ASLAN
ASLAN Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops novel medicines for global markets, with offices in Singapore and Taiwan. ASLAN licenses preclinical and early clinical compounds from global pharmaceutical companies, focusing on oncology and inflammation diseases, and uses the high quality and efficient development resources available across Asia to progress the drugs through clinical development. ASLAN currently has 3 drugs in clinical development, with the lead compound entering phase 2b for gastric cancer. For more information, please visit www.aslanpharma.com.
About CSL
Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, CSL Limited is a global biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets biotherapies to prevent and treat serious human diseases. CSL owns major facilities in Australia, Germany, Switzerland and the United States, and employs over 11,000 people in more than 25 countries. Visit www.csl.com.au for more information.