Takeda agrees to develop active immunotherapy for Alzheimer’s

Takeda and AC Immune SA have agreed a global option and license agreement for a potential first-in-class Abeta-targeting active immunotherapy for Alzheimer’s.

AC Immune’s related immunotherapies targeting Abeta are part of the deal, including the Alzheimer’s treatment ACI-24.060.

According to Takeda, based on blinded data, immunogenicity of this immunotherapy is “very encouraging with clear evidence of anti-Abeta antibody responses”.

Potential of the active immunotherapy

For instance, by inducing plaque clearance and efficiently inhibiting plaque formation in the brain, ACI-24.060 may delay or slow Alzheimer’s disease progression. The investigational immunotherapy is being investigated in the ongoing ABATE Phase Ib/II trial in participants with prodromal Alzheimer’s and in Down syndrome.

“We are excited to partner with AC Immune on this ground-breaking treatment approach, which leverages novel technology with the potential to offer patients a treatment with differentiated efficacy, safety and ease of administration,” stated Sarah Sheikh, MSc, BM, BCh, MRCP, Head, Neuroscience Therapeutic Area Unit and Head, Global Development at Takeda.

“Combining AC Immune’s deep experience with active immunotherapy approaches with Takeda’s expertise in neuroscience drug development and commercialisation, we have an incredible opportunity to deliver real impact to the Alzheimer’s community,” Sheikh shared.

Further terms of the agreement

AC Immune will be responsible for completing the ABATE trial as part of the deal. Once the option is exercised, Takeda stated that it will “conduct and fund all further clinical development and be responsible for all global regulatory activities in addition to worldwide commercialisation”.

As part of the deal, AC Immune will receive an upfront payment of $100 million. Additionally, Takeda stated that the company will be eligible to receive an option exercise fee and additional potential milestones of up to approximately $2.1 billion. This will only go ahead if all related milestones are achieved.

Partnering with Takeda “will help us move rapidly into Phase III… while allowing us to focus on completing Phase Ib/II development and accelerating our efforts to replicate this success with enhanced funding for our early-stage pipeline,” stated Dr Andrea Pfeifer, CEO of AC Immune.

Six-month Abeta positron emission tomography (PET) imaging results for ACI-24.060 are expected in Q2 2024. Furthermore, the 12-month Abeta PET data are expected in final quarter of 2024, Takeda confirmed.