Japan-headquartered pharmaceutical firm Takeda and Swiss firm AC Immune SA have announced an exclusive, worldwide option and license agreement for AC Immune’s active immunotherapies targeting toxic forms of amyloid beta (Abeta), including ACI-24.060 for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

ACI-24.060 is an anti-Abeta active immunotherapy candidate designed to induce a robust antibody response against the toxic forms of Abeta believed to drive plaque formation and Alzheimer’s disease progression. By inducing plaque clearance and efficiently inhibiting plaque formation in the brain, ACI-24.060 has the potential to delay or slow Alzheimer’s disease progression. ACI-24.060 is being investigated in the ongoing ABATE randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1b/2 trial to assess the safety, tolerability, immunogenicity and pharmacodynamic effects of the investigational immunotherapy in subjects with prodromal Alzheimer’s disease and in adults with Down syndrome.

Under the terms of the agreement, AC Immune will receive an upfront payment of $100 million and be eligible to receive an option exercise fee and additional potential development, commercial and sales-based milestones of up to approximately $2.1 billion if all related milestones are achieved over the course of the agreement. Upon commercialisation, AC Immune will be entitled to receive tiered double-digit royalties on worldwide net sales.