Prothena to receive $55M from Bristol Myers Squibb for rights to anti-tau antibody
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Key takeaways:
- Prothena due to receive $55 million from Bristol Myers Squibb for license to tau-antibody PRX005.
- Bristol Myers will be responsible for development, creation and marketing of the novel therapeutic.
Prothena Corporation plc announced Bristol Myers Squibb exercised its option under its global neuroscience research and development collaboration to obtain exclusive worldwide commercial rights for PRX005, paying Prothena $55 million.
According to a release from Prothena, PRX005 is an anti-tau antibody designed to specifically target an area within the microtubule-binding region (MTBR) of tau responsible for the spread of the protein throughout the brain. In preclinical models, these MTBR-specific antibodies were effective in blocking tau uptake and neurotoxicity, marking the potential for the novel therapeutic to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
“Earlier this year, as part of our collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb, we announced topline data from the single ascending dose portion of the phase 1 clinical trial showing that PRX005 across three dose cohorts was safe and well tolerated with expected pharmacokinetic properties, meeting the primary objectives of the study,” Gene Kinney, PhD, president and CEO, Prothena, stated in the release. “We are proud of our pioneering role in targeting this key region within the MTBR of tau and excited that Bristol Myers Squibb have exercised their option for worldwide rights to PRX005.”
As a result of the collaboration, Prothena may receive up to $160 million for U.S. rights and up to $110 million for global rights, while Bristol Myers would be responsible for development, manufacturing and commercialization, the company stated.
Because the multiple ascending dose portion of the phase 1 clinical trial for PRX005 is ongoing, all updates, including results from current and future clinical studies involving PRX005, will be reported by Bristol Myers, per the release.
“PRX005, identified and developed by Prothena through our partnership, has the potential to provide a meaningful disease-modifying treatment option for the millions of people that suffer from Alzheimer’s disease,” Richard Hargreaves, senior VP and head of Bristol Myers Squibb’s Neuroscience Thematic Research Center, said in the release.