UCB Announces Global Partnership to Bring Disease-Modifying Therapies to People Living with Parkinson’s Disease

UCB to partner with Novartis on development of UCB0599 with an opt-in to develop UCB7853, two innovative and potentially disease-modifying investigational assets in Parkinson’s disease

· UCB will receive upfront payment of US$150 million and is eligible to receive further milestone payments with a total potential consideration approaching US$1.5 billion

· Partnership an important step in the development of innovative therapies for the treatment of people living with Parkinson’s disease

Brussels, Belgium – 2 December, 2021, 7:15 CET – UCB today announced that it has entered into a global co-development and co-commercialization agreement with Novartis covering UCB0599, a potential first in class, small molecule, alpha-synuclein misfolding inhibitor currently in Phase 2 clinical development, and upon completion of the ongoing Phase 1 program, an opt-in to co-develop UCB7853, an anti-alpha-synuclein antibody, both in Parkinson’s Disease (PD).

“This partnership has the potential to be transformational for people living with Parkinson’s disease, as it will combine UCB’s expertise as a leader in the field of neurodegenerative disease with Novartis’ global capabilities and deep experience developing transformative, disease modifying treatments for a range of neurological conditions,” said Dhaval Patel, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at UCB. “It is a great example of our approach to research and development in neurodegeneration, building external networks and partnerships to access additional capabilities and knowledge, that help to accelerate the development of our medicines.”

Charl van Zyl, Executive Vice President, Neurology & Head of Europe/International Markets commented: “It is our long-term ambition to transform the Parkinson’s treatment landscape from the management of symptoms, to treatments that can slow or stop the progression of disease. By sharing resources and working together we think we can best optimize our chances of success and realize our Parkinson’s ambitions.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the parties will co-develop and co-fund the further global development of UCB0599. Novartis also have the right to “opt-in” to engage in global co-development of UCB7853 upon completion of a Phase 1 study currently being run by UCB. Further clinical development would then also be jointly funded and managed.

UCB will receive an upfront payment of US$150 million and is eligible to receive further potential payments with a total consideration approaching US$1.5 billion upon receipt of certain regulatory approvals and satisfying certain development and sales related milestones. If approved, commercial responsibilities will be split, with UCB being the marketing authorization holder and commercial lead in Europe and Japan, and Novartis in the US and all other territories.

This agreement does not impact UCB’s 2021 financial guidance.

About UCB0599 and UCB7853

UCB0599 was in-licensed by UCB from Neuropore Therapies Inc. (1) It is an orally administered, brain penetrant, small molecule inhibitor of alpha-synuclein misfolding under clinical investigation for the potential to slow the progression on Parkinson’s (2). UCB7853 is an anti-alpha-synuclein monoclonal antibody under investigation for the potential treatment of people living with Parkinson’s.

The most prominent neuropathological hallmark of Parkinson’s is the abnormal accumulation and misfolding of the alpha-synuclein protein. This misfolding is thought to be a primary step in the pathological cascade that results in the progression of Parkinson’s disease pathobiology culminating in the loss of neurons (3; 4).

Through action on this early step in Parkinson’s pathology, UCB0599 may have the potential to slow the progression of the disease and related clinical symptoms. A complementary approach may be achieved by targeting the extracellular spread of pathological species of alpha-synuclein with antibody therapies such as UCB7853. Collectively, UCB0599 and UCB7853 represent a unique opportunity to target a key pathobiology in Parkinson’s and offer the potential to bring transformative treatments to patients (5; 6; 7).

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[Smittybear7]

Thanks for sharing

[JohnPepper]

Fast Walking is a therapy and the on;y one which has been proven to reverse the symptoms of Pd. I refer to the report from the Mayo Clinic in 2018.healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

[Hidden in reply to JohnPepper]

Thanks John for reminding us to exercise.

[JohnPepper in reply to Hidden]

It is always my pleasure to help Pd patients, especially those who have lost hope and believe there is nothing thay can do to stop the Pd.

There is something we can allm do, no matter how far gone the patient is. I have demonstrated my walking method to lots of people in wheelchairs and hundreds of them using walking aids.

The biggest problem patients have is overcoming the side effects of meication, such as Syskinesia. They can only succeed to do so if, at the same time, they start reducing their meication, which is possible.

I went to meet a German patient, who lives in Italy, and he was in a bad way with Dyskinesia, taking a large number of levodopa pills every day, He slowly started thewealking and as he got faster and further he started to rreduce his pills and the last time I spoke tom him he was on three pills a day and hoping to get off them entirely. You should see him walking! I cannot keep up with him, although he is a lot younger than I am.

Hang in there!

Cheers