
AsianScientist (Oct. 21, 2013) – Ablynx has granted a license to Eddingpharm, a Chinese pharmaceutical company, to develop and commercialize its anti-RANKL Nanobody, ALX-0141, in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Eddingpharm will be responsible for the clinical development, registration and commercialization in China of anti-RANKL Nanobody therapeutics. Ablynx will use the data generated by Eddingpharm to support potential licensing discussions in other geographic regions.
Ablynx will receive a €2 million upfront payment from Eddingpharm and is entitled to receive commercial milestone payments plus tiered, double-digit royalties of up to 20 percent, based on annual net sales of ALX-0141 generated by Eddingpharm in Greater China.
“Eddingpharm is well-positioned to further develop and commercialize ALX-0141 in Greater China, which represents a rapidly growing area for bone related disorders. Our Nanobody has strong potential in this market, with very good efficacy, as measured by biomarkers, and a clean safety profile,” said Dr. Edwin Moses, chairman and CEO of Ablynx.
ALX-0141 is a bivalent bi-specific therapeutic molecule composed of two Nanobodies targeting the Receptor Activator of Nuclear factor Kappa-B Ligand (RANKL). This bivalent anti-RANKL construct is linked to a Nanobody that binds to human serum albumin, extending the drug’s in vivo half-life, and which may in turn lead to preferential targeting of diseased tissue.
A Phase I study in healthy post-menopausal women showed that a single administration of ALX-0141 has a strong and very long lasting inhibitory effect on bone resorption biomarkers and was well tolerated with no serious adverse events or dose-limiting toxicity being observed.
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Source: Ablynx.
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