Following Vounatsos' announced departure, Biogen partners with private Canadian biotech for oral Parkinson's treatment

06 Jun 2022
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Biogen announced a deal with Canadian biotech Alectos Therapeutics on Monday to develop a drug aimed at restoring lysosome function, adding another candidate to the pharma’s Parkinson’s pipeline. The potential drug, which is still in preclinical studies, would inhibit GBA2 — an enzyme that breaks down a large glycolipid into its sugar and fat components. According to Biogen and Alectos, inhibiting GBA2 can also increase the lysosome’s proton pump activity and possibly restore lysosome function, which may be implicated in a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases. For the GBA2 inhibitor and “additional unnamed backup molecules,” Biogen will pay $15 million upfront. Biogen could also pay Alectos $77.5 million in development milestones and up to $630 million further down the line if the drug makes it to market. “Through this collaboration with Alectos, we hope to improve the lives of people living with Parkinson’s disease by advancing the research and development of a potential-first-in-class oral treatment that may slow disease progression,” Biogen interim R&D head Priya Singhal said in a press release . Last year, Biogen quietly put away another Parkinson’s drug after a Phase II fail . The pharma has been reeling as it struggled to commercialize its controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, and last month announced its CEO Michel Vounatsos was on his way out . Alongside that news, Biogen said it would be looking for new deals as it tried to revamp its R&D focus. Mutations to the GBA2 gene and its partner GBA1 have been associated with Gaucher disease, which can lead to the buildup of glycolipids in the body and results in liver, lung and brain damage. Mutations to GBA1 are also a risk factor for GBA-PD, a form of Parkinson’s that impacts a small subset of patients. OrbiMed-backed Vanqua Bio is creating an activator to target the GBA1 pathway in hopes of treating GBA-PD. However, Biogen and Alectos’ new drug would be a potential first-in-class inhibitor of GBA2. “I think the subset of GBA Parkinson’s patients that carry mutations in GBA, that’s really just additional evidence that points to dysfunction of lysosomal pathway in this disease among others. I think that’s really supporting evidence that GBA2 inhibition as a general mechanism to activate lysosomal function may be effective in this disease,” Alectos CEO Ernest McEachern told Endpoints News . Alectos is also partnered with Merck to develop a different inhibitor targeted at OGA, also meant to resolve lysosome dysfunction in Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. As their candidate is still in preclinical studies, McEachern said they didn’t have a strict timeline for development yet. This article has been updated to include comment from Ernest McEachern.
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