AbbVie has announced the acquisition of Aliada Therapeutics for $1.4 billion, a strategic move to enhance its pipeline in Alzheimer's disease and neuroscience. The deal provides AbbVie with Aliada's innovative Modular Delivery (MODEL) technology and its lead candidate, ALIA-1758, an anti-pyroglutamate amyloid beta (3pE-Aβ) antibody currently in Phase I clinical trials (NCT06406348). This acquisition aims to address the critical need for effective Alzheimer's treatments, as the global prevalence of dementia continues to rise.
Addressing Alzheimer's with Novel Delivery Technology
ALIA-1758 leverages Aliada's MODEL platform to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a significant challenge in developing CNS-targeted therapies. The MODEL platform targets transferrin and CD98 receptors (TfR and CD98), which are highly expressed in brain endothelial cells. By using engineered TfR or CD98 binders, the platform is designed to deliver various biological cargoes, including therapeutic antibodies and genetic medicines like siRNA, into the brain.
Michael Ryan, MD, chief medical officer at Aliada, stated, "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."
ALIA-1758: Targeting Amyloid Plaques
ALIA-1758 uses TfR to transport a 3pE-Aβ antibody across the BBB, facilitating the degradation and elimination of amyloid beta plaques, a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. This mechanism of action distinguishes it from existing therapies and offers a potentially more effective approach to treating the disease.
The Growing Need for Alzheimer's Therapies
With over 55 million people worldwide suffering from dementia, and projections estimating this number will double every 20 years, the need for effective Alzheimer's treatments is urgent. While drugs like Biogen’s Leqembi and Lilly’s Kisunla target amyloid plaques, their effectiveness remains limited. AbbVie's acquisition of Aliada and ALIA-1758 represents a significant step towards developing next-generation therapies that can address this unmet need.
Roopal Thakkar, MD, executive vice president, research and development and chief scientific officer, AbbVie, noted, "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."
