Aimmune to License Monoclonal Antibody for Food Allergy Treatment

Aimmune Therapeutics, a Brisbane, CA-based biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for food allergies, announced it was granted an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize the investigational humanized monoclonal antibody XmAb7195 from Xencor, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company.

Through the agreement, Aimmune will provide Xencor with an upfront payment of $5 million in cash and $5 million in equity, which is equivalent to 156,238 shares of Aimmune common stock at $32 per share, according to an Aimmune press release. Xencor is also entitled to receive up to $385 million if certain clinical development, regulatory, and commercialization goals are met. Aimmune will be responsible for all costs related to the development of the antibody.

Originally developed by Xencor for the treatment of allergic asthma, XmAb7195, which will be renamed AIMab7195, works to reduce blood serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) and suppress IgE-producing cells by utilizing three separate methods of action, the press release said. Aimmune plans to introduce the antibody as an adjunctive treatment with its Characterized Oral Desensitized ImmunoTherapy (CODIT) programs to research treatment outcomes in patients with food allergies.

“As we look to the future of food allergy treatments, we are excited to explore the potential of oral immunotherapy to achieve greater levels of desensitization-and perhaps even remission-when combined with adjunctive biologics that target immune pathways,” said Jayson Dallas, MD, president and CEO of Aimmune, in the press release. “In-licensing AIMab7195 demonstrates our commitment to enriching our pipeline and strengthening Aimmune’s global leadership in the evolving therapeutic landscape of food allergy treatments.”

“Aimmune’s focus, clinical success, and regulatory expertise in food allergy demonstrate their capability to advance AIMab7195 with highly complementary CODIT pipeline programs to create new options for people living with food allergy,” added Bassil Dahiyat, PhD, president and CEO of Xencor, in the press release. “AIMab7195 is designed to reduce levels of IgE, a key mediator of allergic response, and there is strong scientific rationale that this reduction would synergize with the activity of desensitization therapies.”

Source: Aimmune