Chiesi Farmaceutici, the international research-focused pharmaceutical and healthcare group, said that it has entered into an agreement with Allinaire Therapeutic, a company founded by BioMotiv, to acquire the worldwide rights to a portfolio of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies against endothelial monocyte-activating polypeptide II (EMAP II) for the potential treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
The companies did not disclose financial details of the transaction, but said Allinaire will receive an upfront payment, future milestone payments, and net sales royalties.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease with an incidence of 2 to 5 per 1 million adults. Current approved medications mainly address the symptoms of this rare condition and there is an unmet medical need for novel approaches that could delay, or reverse, the disease progression.
EMAP II is a non-classical cytokine which impacts apoptosis, cell injury, endothelial cell function, and inflammation. Allinaire and its network have demonstrated a pivotal pathogenic role of EMAP II in cardiopulmonary diseases, including PAH, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and viral-induced acute lung injury. It developed anti-EMAP II mAbs that are currently being progressed in early phases as a potential treatment for PAH.
“This agreement is further evidence of Chiesi’s commitment to seek out novel treatments for conditions with a high unmet medical need such as PAH,” said Thomas Eichholtz, head of global R&D of Chiesi Group. “We believe that an anti-EMAP II mAb is a promising novel approach for the treatment and slowing of disease progression for patients with PAH.”
Author: Rare Daily Staff
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