![](https://www.worldpharmatoday.com/images/nBanners/Docuvera-728x90.jpeg")
AdAlta Limited a biotechnology company specialising in the discovery and development of protein-based therapeutics, and Crossbeta Biosciences, a biotechnology company with unique technology for therapeutic and diagnostic use in neurodegenerative disorders announced their commercialisation agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, Crossbeta has been granted an exclusive license to three beta-amyloid oligomer (AßO)-specific shark antibodies, identified under the collaboration signed between AdAlta and Crossbeta in December 2013. These shark antibodies are considered to have immediate and highly disease-specific potential for the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
AdAlta will receive royalties on future revenues from successful commercialization of the AßO-specific shark antibodies as novel therapeutics or diagnostic agents. All ongoing research and development (R&D) as well as commercialisation will be managed by Crossbeta.
Combining the unique strengths of both companies, the R&D collaboration used AßOs produced by Crossbeta’s proprietary oligomer-stabilising technology and AdAlta’s single-domain shark antibody library was used to screen these novel targets to identify the therapeutic and diagnostic lead candidates.
The three licensed anti-AßO antibodies bind specifically to the disease-relevant AßO preparation, but, importantly, do not recognize or bind to the monomer and fibrils of the beta-amyloid protein.
AdAlta Chief Executive Officer Samantha Cobb said: “Crossbeta’s novel and unique oligomer-stabilisation technology enabled us to identify Alzheimer’s disease-specific shark single domain antibodies with highly valuable differential binding properties. The long loop of the shark single domain antibody (or i-body) binds to unusual epitopes with high affinity and specificity, as demonstrated with our lead candidate to a GPCR and previous targets and, most recently, in this instance with Crossbeta’s AßOs. This licensing deal fits with our strategy to focus on the i-body platform and our lead candidate in fibrosis and we believe that Crossbeta with its strong position in the therapeutic area of Alzheimer’s is the right partner to realize the potential of these novel antibodies.”
Crossbeta Biosciences Chief Executive Officer Guus Scheefhals said: “We are very pleased with the outcome of our collaborative agreement with AdAlta, exploiting the promising characteristics of our AßOs to the future benefit of the Alzheimer’s field and patients. We will now move forward with developing these novel anti-AßO antibodies as potential treatments of real disease-modification potential and diagnostic use, as early in the disease as possible, for the benefit of Alzheimer’s patients.”
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, primarily affecting people above the age of 60. Alzheimer’s disease affects about 1 in 10 people over 65 years, and more than 1 in 4 people over 85 years. Alzheimer’s is an area of unmet medical need with a significant social and economic impact.
About AdAlta
AdAlta Limited is an Australian based drug development company headquartered in Melbourne. The Company is focused on using its proprietary technology platform to generate i-bodies, a new class of protein therapeutics, with applications as therapeutic drugs to treat disease.
The i-body is a human analogue of the antigen binding domain of the shark antibody, which combines the advantages of monoclonal antibodies (high target specificity and affinity) with the beneficial stability features of small molecules. In addition to stability, the i-body has a long binding loop that is a feature of shark antibodies not present in either human or next generation antibodies. This feature enables the i-body to recognise and bind to a diverse range of different therapeutically-relevant drug targets, including those that are difficult/intractable to access by current antibody therapies. These include clinically important targets such as G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and ion channels.
AdAlta is developing its lead i-body candidate, AD-114, for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other human fibrotic diseases, for which current therapies are sub-optimal and there is a high-unmet medical need.The Company also plans to continue further drug discovery and development directed towards other drug targets and diseases with its i-body technology platform.Further information can be found at: www.adalta.com.au
About Crossbeta Biosciences
Crossbeta Biosciences is a biotech company with a proprietary technology for efficient oligomer-based drug discovery, with applications in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS and Huntington’s disease. Crossbeta’s technology allows the unprecedented generation of well-defined stable, pathobiologically functional, oligomers. Crossbeta’s oligomers have enabled the development of robust assays allowing fast, de-risked compound screening and characterization. The unique capabilities of Crossbeta’s technology have been demonstrated in a therapeutic Alzheimer’s disease program by successfully identifying compounds that neutralize oligomer toxicity in vitro and in vivo.
Crossbeta offers its proprietary technology for strategic collaborative partnerships aimed at developing new oligomer targets and related screening assays and for therapeutic and diagnostic/biomarker assay development programs.Further information can be found at: www.crossbeta.com
For Further information
At AdAlta
Sam Cobb|
Chief Executive Officer
AdAlta Limited
Tel: +61 (0) 3 9479 5159
E: s.cobb@adalta.com.au
Media (Australia)
Andrew Geddes
Tel: +61 (0) 408 677 734
E: adalta@instinctif.com
Media (International)
Sue Charles/Daniel Gooch
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7866 7905
E: adalta@instinctif.com
At Crossbeta Biosciences
Guus Scheefhals, CEO
Crossbeta Biosciences BV
Tel: +31 30 253 2668
E: g.scheefhals@crossbeta.com
