Alzheimer's vaccine licensing deal boosts AC Immune

By Eleanor Laise

Stock jumps more than 50% on agreement that will help move experimental vaccine into late-stage trials

AC Immune S.A. shares (ACIU) jumped more than 50% premarket on Monday after the Swiss biopharma company announced a licensing deal with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. (TAK) for an experimental Alzheimer's disease vaccine.

The deal gives Japanese drugmaker Takeda the exclusive option to license global rights to the vaccine, known as ACI-24.060, which is designed to delay or slow Alzheimer's disease progression. Under the terms of the agreement, AC Immune will get $100 million immediately, with additional potential milestone payments of up to $2.1 billion, the companies said in a release.

The investigational vaccine is designed to produce an antibody response to fight toxic forms of amyloid beta, a protein that can clump together to form plaques in the brain and is believed to be a factor behind Alzheimer's disease progression. The ACI-24.060 vaccine, which is designed to clear the plaques and help inhibit the formation of new ones, is being studied in an ongoing Phase 1b/2 trial in people with prodromal Alzheimer's disease- a stage when patients typically have mild cognitive impairment.

The partnership with Takeda will help move the vaccine quickly into Phase 3 studies, AC Immune CEO Andrea Pfeifer said in a statement. If Takeda exercises its option, it would then conduct and fund all further clinical development for the vaccine and be responsible for global regulatory activities and commercialization.

The deal provides a "significant endorsement" for an asset that was previously under the radar and extends AC Immune's cash runway into 2027, Jefferies analysts said in a research note Monday.

AC Immune's experimental vaccine so far has not been linked with amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, the Jefferies analysts wrote - a potentially serious side effect seen in some patients during clinical trials of Biogen Inc. (BIIB) and Eisai Co. Ltd.'s (ESALF) Alzheimer's treatment Leqembi and Eli Lilly & Co.'s experimental Alzheimer's drug donanemab.

Research also suggests that anti-amyloid therapies are most effective when given early, potentially even before the onset of symptoms, and "thus these vaccine attributes appear particularly attractive," the analysts wrote.

AC Immune shares have dropped 53.8% year-to-date through Friday, while the S&P 500 SPX has climbed 9.5%. Takeda shares fell 1.1% premarket on Monday and are down 7.2% in the year to date.

-Eleanor Laise

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05-13-24 0847ET

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