GSK captures the technical right to acquire drugs in the blood-brain barrier
The properties of the blood-brain barrier play a crucial protective role, but they also prevent the drug from reaching the organs. Big pharmaceutical companies have been struggling for a deal for technology that can help them acquire molecules through this protective membrane, and now GSK is joining, which has allowed a coalition to push its new way to drive drugs into the brain to treat neurodegeneration.
The agreement announced on Monday gives GSK access to platform technology developed by ABL Bio. The specific diseases covered by this agreement are not disclosed. The deal was with GSK for a deal worth £38.5 million (about $49.1 million) based in South Korea.
ABL's drug delivery method is based on Grabodo, a platform technology that develops bispecific antibodies that are engineered to bind to two targets. To treat brain disease, bispecific antibodies from scratch proteins contain a domain designed to bind to the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor 1 receptor (IGF1R), which transports the protein over the blood-brain barrier. Another binding domain is designed to pursue the desired goal of treating brain diseases.
Gsk and Abl did not reveal the brain goals they pursued. But the protocol covers multiple plans for new goals that can be treated through various treatment methods. For example, they say that ABL brain drugs can be used to deliver genetic drugs to the brain, such as small-sized RNA-releasing drugs or antisense oligonucleotides.
ABL's most advanced brain program is a candidate for Parkinson's disease developed under a partnership with Sanofi. The brain target of the preclinical drug ABL301 is α-nucleoprotein. Although the protein is also a target for other Parkinson's drug candidates, ABL believes that its drug's bispecific approach can target α-nucleoproteins more efficiently than traditional monoclonal antibodies.
According to GSK's transaction, ABL will be transferred to Pharma Giant Technology and knowledge related to the Grabody-B platform. GSK will be responsible for preclinical and clinical development, as well as manufacturing and potential commercialization. Based on the progress of the research, ABL's milestone payments could receive up to £20.75 billion (approximately US$2.6 billion), plus royalties if any drug caused by the transaction reaches the market.
“Many of the most promising new therapies are antibodies that do not reach the brain effectively without a shuttle bus [blood-brain barrier]Christopher Austin, senior vice president of research technology at GSK, said in a prepared statement. “This agreement reflects our commitment to innovative platform technologies to overcome the BBB and thus opens up new opportunities to treat these devastating diseases, an important part of our emerging pipeline.”
GSK already has a clinical stage Alzheimer's program from a partnership with Alector that begins in 2021. Latozinemab (formerly AL001) is in Phase 3 testing; Alector has said it expects preliminary data by the end of 20205. AL101 (also known as GSK4527226) is in stage 2. Both drugs are monoclonal antibodies designed to reduce the degradation of mediators, the protein that regulates immune activity in the brain.
Targeting of receptors in the treatment of transblood-brain barrier gives GSK another potential treatment for neurodegeneration, but is not alone in this approach, called receptor-mediated transcytosis. Aliada Therapeutics engineers’ platform technology antibodies are designed to target transferrin and CD98 receptors to transport molecules across the blood-brain barrier. Similar to ABL, Aliada says its technology can be applied to a variety of types of therapeutic carbon, such as enzymes, proteins and oligonucleotides. Abbvie agreed to pay $1.4 billion to acquire Aliada last year as biotech leads its initiative in early clinical development of Alzheimer's disease.
ABL research also covers drugs that are being developed for cancer. Partnership with I-MAB is developing PD-L1- and Claudin 18.2 targeted drugs; both programs are in the first stage of solid tumors. The most advanced ABL program is ABL001 (also known as Tovecimig), a drug targeting VEGF in advanced clinical development, used in partnership with Compass Therapeatics, as well as indicators of other cancers.
Photo: Joelligan, Getty Images
