AbbVie and Aliada Therapeutics announced a definitive agreement under which AbbVie will buy Aliada, a biotechnology company advancing therapies using a novel blood-brain barrier (BBB)-crossing technology to address challenging central nervous system (CNS) diseases. And Aliada’s lead investigational asset utilizing this delivery technology ALIA-1758 is an anti-pyroglutamate amyloid beta (3pE-Aβ) antibody in development for treating Alzheimer’s disease.
Aliada is advancing therapeutic candidates with its Modular Delivery (MODEL) platform, which is engineered for high-precision CNS drug delivery. And the novel BBB-crossing technology targets transferrin and CD98 receptors (TfR and CD98) which are highly expressed in brain endothelial cells. By engineering highly optimized TfR or CD98 binders, this platform is designed to deliver different types of biological cargo into the brain, including therapeutic antibodies and genetic medicines such as siRNA.
Plus, ALIA-1758 utilizes TfR to transport a 3pE-Aβ antibody across the BBB to enable the degradation and elimination of amyloid beta plaques, a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. This investigational candidate is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial to assess its safety and tolerability in healthy participants (NCT06406348).
Under the terms of the deal, AbbVie will acquire all outstanding Aliada equity for $1.4 billion in cash, subject to certain customary adjustments. This deal is expected to close in 4Q2024, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
AbbVie’s legal advisor was Covington & Burling. And Aliada’s exclusive financial advisor was Centerview Partners and Fenwick & West served as legal advisor.
KEY QUOTES:
“Neuroscience is one of our key growth areas and we are committed to driving innovation in this field to address critical unmet needs for patients living with seriously debilitating neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. This acquisition immediately positions us to advance ALIA-1758, a potentially best-in-class disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, Aliada’s novel BBB-crossing technology strengthens our R&D capabilities to accelerate the development of next-generation therapies for neurological disorders and other diseases where enhanced delivery of therapeutics into the CNS is beneficial.”
-Roopal Thakkar, M.D., executive vice president, research and development and chief scientific officer, AbbVie
“We are pleased to announce the acquisition of Aliada by AbbVie and are excited about AbbVie’s commitment to bringing ALIA-1758 to patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Our proprietary MODEL platform has enabled the development of ALIA-1758, a promising step forward in brain delivery of an anti-amyloid antibody therapy. Many promising CNS-targeted therapies fail to reach late-stage trials due to their inability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Our MODEL platform addresses this challenge directly, efficiently delivering targeted drugs and potentially transforming how we treat neurological diseases.”
-Michael Ryan, M.D., chief medical officer at Aliada Therapeutics
