Collaboration will focus on innovative therapies for patients with a range of respiratory diseases
Chiesi and Affibody have announced a new collaboration and licensing agreement. The partnership will develop and commercialise innovative treatments for respiratory diseases using Affibody’s proprietary technology.
Both companies will use the partnership to progress up to three programmes based on Affibody molecules targeting respiratory diseases. Meanwhile, Chiesi will fund all development, discovery and commercialisation worldwide, in line with its strategy to provide treatments for people living with respiratory diseases.
The relatively small size of Affibody’s molecules in addition to their robustness allows for the unique attributes explored under this collaboration, such as broad distribution and sustained exposure in the lung, as seen in preclinical models.
The partnership also aims to go beyond treatments by concentrating on the wider patient experience.
Meanwhile, Affibody is eligible to receive development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments of up to $214m.
“This collaboration with Chiesi accelerates Affibody’s strategic development and further reinforces the competitiveness of our technology which has now been validated both clinically and commercially,” explained David Bejker, chief executive officer at Affibody AB. “We acknowledge and appreciate Chiesi’s significant commitment and expertise in the development of inhaled drugs and believe that this partnership will help maximise the value of inhaled Affibody molecules.”
Thomas Eichholtz, head of global research and development at Chiesi Group, believes the collaboration can make a difference: “Chiesi is committed to the research, discovery and development of novel innovative treatments in the respiratory diseases area which is a strategic priority for our organisation.”
He added: “Our collaboration with Affibody adds an important new modality to our R&D portfolio that has particularly interesting properties for inhalation, and we look forward to developing new treatments for people with unmet medical needs based on this partnership.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Affibody has retained the option to co-promote products in the Nordic region.
