LONDON (dpa-AFX) - AstraZeneca (AZN), a biopharmaceutical company, on Wednesday, announced that its subsidiary, Alexion, has exercised its option to acquire all remaining equity in Caelum Biosciences, a clinical stage biotechnology company, for CAEL-101, a potentially first-in-class fibril-reactive monoclonal antibody (mAb) for the treatment of light chain (AL) amyloidosis. This reflects a non-controlling interest of $150 million.
Upon completion of the acquisition, which is expected to take place on October 5, Alexion is expected to pay Caelum the agreed option exercise price of about $150 million, with the potential for additional payments of up to $350 million, upon achievement of regulatory and commercial milestones.
In 2019, Caelum and Alexion first entered into a collaboration whereby Alexion acquired a minority equity interest and an exclusive option to acquire the remaining equity in Caelum.
AL amyloidosis is a rare disease in which misfolded amyloid proteins build up in organs throughout the body, including the heart and kidneys, causing significant organ damage and failure that may ultimately be fatal.
CAEL-101 is currently being evaluated in the Cardiac Amyloid Reaching for Extended Survival (CARES) Phase III clinical programme in combination with standard-of-care (SoC) therapy in AL amyloidosis. Two parallel Phase III trials in patients with Mayo stage IIIa disease and in patients with Mayo stage IIIb disease respectively are ongoing, Cambridge-based AstraZeneca said in a statement.
'With a median survival time of less than 18 months following diagnosis, there is an urgent need for new treatments for this devastating disease. CAEL-101 has the potential to be the first therapy to target and remove amyloid deposits from organ tissues, improve organ function, and, ultimately, lead to longer lives for these patients,' said Marc Dunoyer, Chief Executive Officer, Alexion.
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