Chiesi acquires therapeutic monoclonal antibodies portfolio being investigated as potential treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension

Chiesi acquires therapeutic monoclonal antibodies portfolio being investigated as potential treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension

• New investment will progress potential treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a rare condition which causes high blood pressure and remodeling in the blood vessels that supply the lungs and can lead to heart failure.[1]
• Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against endothelial monocyte-activating polypeptide II (EMAP II) are currently being investigated as treatment options to address the underlying causes of PAH.

MANCHESTER, UK, 19 May 2022 - Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. (Chiesi Group), the international research-focused pharmaceutical and healthcare group, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Allinaire Therapeutic, LLC, a company founded by BioMotiv, to acquire the world-wide rights to a portfolio of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against endothelial monocyte-activating polypeptide II (EMAP II) – a treatment option currently being investigated for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

PAH is a rare disease with an incidence of 2–5 per million adults.[2] PAH is a progressive disorder characterised by high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs that can lead to right heart failure.^1,[3]

EMAP II is a non-classical cytokine which impacts apoptosis, cell injury, endothelial cell function and inflammation.[4]^,2 Based on the pioneering work by the scientific founders, Matthias Clauss, PhD and Irina Petrache, MD, and their colleagues at Indiana University and National Jewish Health, Allinaire and their network of preclinical scientists, have demonstrated a pathogenic role of EMAP II in cardiopulmonary diseases, including PAH, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and viral-induced acute lung injury.[5]^,4 They developed anti-EMAP II mAbs which are currently being progressed in early phases, in order to find a potential disease-modifying treatment for PAH and are the subject of this partnership.

“This agreement is further evidence of Chiesi’s commitment to seek out novel treatments for conditions with a high unmet medical need such as PAH” commented Thomas Eichholtz, Head of Global R&D of Chiesi Group. “We believe that an anti-EMAP II mAb is a promising novel approach for the treatment and slowing of disease progression for patients with PAH. The partnership with Allinaire is further evidence of Chiesi’s focus on innovation and desire to accelerate our entry into biologics and thus diversify our therapeutic platforms”.

According to Douglas W.P. Hay, CEO and CSO of Allinaire, “We have made excellent progress in our anti-EMAP II mAb program at Allinaire, working with a multi-disciplinary team of experts in EMAP II science, biologics, and cardiopulmonary disease therapeutics. We are extremely excited to be partnering with Chiesi, a world-class global pharmaceutical company with a long-standing and successful track-record in the respiratory therapeutic area, to advance this novel class of medicines”.

Allinaire will receive an upfront payment, future milestone payments and net sales royalties.

The agreement with Allinaire follows Chiesi’s recent €85m investment to build the Biotech Center of Excellence Plant in Parma (Italy), dedicated to the development, production, and distribution of biological products. In recent years the group has also undertaken a series of new strategic partnerships with external partners, including Moderna and Cyclica, to strengthen their work in biotechnology.