AC Immune Initiates IND-Enabling Studies for First-in-Class Antibody Targeting TDP-43 to Treat Neurodegeneration - Seite 2

Prof. Andrea Pfeifer, CEO of AC Immune SA, commented: “This milestone reinforces AC Immune’s position as a leader in developing novel therapies against neurodegenerative diseases, with our anti-TDP-43 antibody on track to become the first in the world to reach clinical development. Aggregation of pathological forms of TDP-43 is an increasingly validated therapeutic target and a well-established hallmark of neurodegeneration. Initiation of IND-enabling studies for our first-in-class lead anti-TDP-43 antibody is a major step toward addressing pressing unmet need in NeuroOrphan indications.

“The Company’s success is driven in part by our proprietary SupraAntigen platform, which has already produced therapeutic monoclonal antibody candidates targeting Abeta and Tau that were successfully out-licensed to leading pharmaceutical companies and are currently advancing in multiple Phase 2 clinical studies. Advancement of the anti-TDP-43 antibody further validates the continuing productivity of this platform, which, together with our Morphomer platform for small molecule development, are responsible for discovery and development of our maturing pipeline of first-in-class or best-in-class therapeutic and diagnostic candidates.”

TDP-43 is an RNA/DNA-binding protein that functions primarily in the nucleus as a regulator of gene transcription and RNA metabolism. TDP-43 pathology has been shown to start from a focal point in the brain and spread to other brain regions with disease progression. Antibody-mediated clearance of pathological TDP-43 therefore represents an attractive strategy for therapeutic intervention – potentially slowing the spread by blocking the ability of pathological TDP-43 to seed aggregation in neighboring healthy cells. The anti-TDP-43 antibody binds all forms of TDP-43 with high affinity and is the only antibody with reported in vivo activity. Proof-of-concept data presented at the 2020 AAT-AD/PD Conference demonstrated anti-TDP-43 antibody’s ability to mitigate TDP-43 neuropathology in a mouse model of TDP-43 proteinopathies.

About AC Immune SA
AC Immune SA is a Nasdaq-listed clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, which aims to become a global leader in precision medicine for neurodegenerative diseases. The Company utilizes two proprietary platforms, SupraAntigen and Morphomer, to design, discover and develop small molecule and biological therapeutics as well as diagnostic products intended to diagnose, prevent and modify neurodegenerative diseases caused by misfolding proteins. The Company's pipeline features nine therapeutic and three diagnostic product candidates, with six currently in clinical trials. It has collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies including Genentech, a member of the Roche group, Eli Lilly and Company, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals.