May 3, 2017
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Boston – Shares of Boston-based Pieris Pharmaceuticals are up more than 40 percent in premarket trading after the company announced another major collaborative deal harnessing its proprietary Anticalin molecules.
London-based AstraZeneca and Pieris are teaming up to push Pieris’ preclinical respiratory drug candidate PRS-060 into Phase I trials later this year. PRS-060 is an Anticalin against interleukin-4 receptor alpha (IL-4Ra) with potential in moderate to severe asthma. Anticalin molecules are engineered proteins that mimic antibodies by binding to other proteins or small molecules. Pieris’ Anticalin molecules are smaller than monoclonal antibodies, which Pieris believes will offer the potential of direct delivery to the lungs of patients. Pieris has demonstrated proof of concept in animals as well as feasibility for pulmonary delivery with PRS-060.
Stephen Yoder, president and chief executive officer at Pieris, touted AstraZeneca’s expertise in developing inhaled medications, which he said will “maximize the potential of PRS-060 and other inhaled Anticalin molecules.” “Our partnership with AstraZeneca accelerates the transformation of Pieris into a fully-integrated drug development and commercial organization, comprising two main pillars in immunology: respiratory disease and immuno-oncology, each of which is now anchored by a major alliance,” Yoder said.
The deal with AstraZeneca is the second major big deal Pieris has struck this year. In January, Pieris and Servier Forge of France signed a broad collaborative deal focused on immuno-oncology. The lead program is Pieris’ PRS-332, a potential best-in-class PD-1-targeting bispecific checkpoint inhibitor. The deal, which includes four additional programs, could be worth a potential $570 million or more.
In February, the company forged a licensing deal with Japan-based ASKA Pharmaceutical Co. for PRS-080 for use in treating anemia. That deal will be worth about $83 million when milestones and royalties are factored in, the company said in February.
Pieris also has a collaboration with Tokyo-based Daiichi Sankyo.
Under terms of the deal with AstraZeneca, Pieris will be responsible for moving the preclinical drug into Phase I trials. AstraZeneca will fund all clinical development and any commercialization programs. Pieris will have the option to co-develop and co-commercialize in the United States from Phase IIa onward, AstraZeneca said in a statement. As part of the deal, Pieris received $57.5 million in upfront and near-milestone payments. If the drug candidate makes it through clinical and regulatory hurdles, the deal could be worth up to $2.1 billion for Pieris, AstraZeneca said.
In addition to the work with PRS-080, Pieris and AstraZeneca will collaborate to progress four additional novel Anticalins against undisclosed targets for respiratory disease.
Mene Pangalos, head of AstraZeneca’s innovative medicines and early development biotech unit, said developing respiratory treatments are a key strategic priority for the company. A focus on respiratory drugs has been key to AstraZeneca’s strategy, particularly since the $575 million acquisition of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company ’s core respiratory business, including global rights to roflumilast, a treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
