It’s been a rough month for several clinical amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) candidates, but that’s not stopping Eli Lilly from pursuing new drugs of its own for the devastating neurological disease. The Big Pharma has inked a deal with British biotech Alchemab Therapeutics to develop new antibodies for ALS.
Under the terms of the deal, Alchemab and Lilly will work together on up to five new antibodies, according to a Jan. 9 release. Alchemab will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and can also earn payments based on hitting discovery, development and commercialization milestones, as well as royalties.
Alchemab’s platform analyzes ALS patients with unusually slow disease progression to identify potential antibodies they may possess that contribute to the slower decline, the company said in the release.
"We have shown that our novel, differentiated antibody discovery platform can lead to insights into how an individual's immune response can generate potent, selective and unique antibodies with therapeutic potential,” Alchemab CEO Jane Osbourn, Ph.D., said in the release. “Alchemab's platform yields both novel targets and potential therapies in one process.”
Earlier this week, investigational ALS treatments from AbbVie-Calico and Denali both failed to slow disease progression in phase 2/3 trials. Those drugs target eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2B (eIF2B), an enzyme that plays a key role in the cellular stress response.
And in December, Corcept’s cortisol modulator was also unable to slow ALS progression in phase 2, while also being linked to gastrointestinal upset.