AbbVie Acquires Aliada for $1.4 Billion, Highlighting Blood-Brain Barrier Tech

On October 28, 2024, AbbVie, a leading pharmaceutical giant, revealed a significant transaction to acquire all the outstanding shares of Aliada for $1.4 billion in cash. Aliada's main product, an anti-amyloid beta antibody, shows promising potential for treating central nervous system (CNS) diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD). AbbVie's primary goal in this acquisition is to utilize Aliada's expertise in novel blood-brain barrier (BBB) crossing technology to further the development of treatments for diseases like Alzheimer's.

In recent years, significant biotech deals that focus on overcoming the blood-brain barrier have garnered extensive attention, showcasing the potential of various drug forms. For instance, in August 2024, Genentech disclosed a major deal, offering $50 million upfront and additional milestone payments, potentially totaling up to $1.9 billion. They secured rights to the zinc finger repressor of the Tau gene and the unique AAV capsid STacc-BBB from Sangamo Therapeutics. This AAV capsid demonstrated a strong ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, and STacc-BBB was capable of driving high levels of transgene expression across a wide range of CNS tissues.

In the realm of small molecule drugs, in May 2023, Roche showed a global interest in Zanron's oral small molecule HER2 inhibitor ZN-A-1041 with an initial payment of $70 million and potential milestone payments totaling $610 million. This small molecule drug is praised for its ability to effectively penetrate the blood-brain barrier and is considered by the market as a potentially groundbreaking treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer brain metastases.

These active commercial development activities highlight the significant potential and future prospects for drug development aimed at crossing the blood-brain barrier. However, several challenges remain, such as the high threshold for screening brain metastasis models, the mismatch of the CDMO industrial chain, and the difficulty in developing large-molecule drugs to penetrate the blood-brain barrier within domestic research and development. Consequently, the number of pharmaceutical companies in China engaging in this field remains limited. Notable examples of innovative drug companies in this domain include Beigene and Dizhe Pharmaceutical.

Given the high threshold for developing innovative pipeline assets capable of penetrating the blood-brain barrier, the investment opportunities in this area may be limited in the future. However, there is also the potential benefit that companies making strategic investments in this field could reap substantial rewards from successful commercial development deals. This represents a logical investment strategy and a critical area of focus for innovative drug investors.