Genzyme Corp.

NORTH CHICAGO, IL and BOSTON, MA, USA I October 28, 2024 I AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV ) and Aliada Therapeutics today announced a definitive agreement under which AbbVie will acquire Aliada, a biotechnology company advancing therapies using a novel blood-brain barrier (BBB)-crossing technology to address challenging central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Aliada’s lead investigational asset utilizing this delivery technology, ALIA-1758, is an anti-pyroglutamate amyloid beta (3pE-Aβ) antibody in development for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. “Neuroscience is one of our key growth areas and we are committed to driving innovation in this field to address critical unmet needs for patients living with seriously debilitating neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease,” said Roopal Thakkar, M.D., executive vice president, research and development and chief scientific officer, AbbVie. “This acquisition immediately positions us to advance ALIA-1758, a potentially best-in-class disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, Aliada’s novel BBB-crossing technology strengthens our R&D capabilities to accelerate the development of next-generation therapies for neurological disorders and other diseases where enhanced delivery of therapeutics into the CNS is beneficial.” “We are pleased to announce the acquisition of Aliada by AbbVie and are excited about AbbVie’s commitment to bringing ALIA-1758 to patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Our proprietary MODEL™ platform has enabled the development of ALIA-1758, a promising step forward in brain delivery of an anti-amyloid antibody therapy,” said Michael Ryan, M.D., chief medical officer at Aliada Therapeutics. “Many promising CNS-targeted therapies fail to reach late-stage trials due to their inability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Our MODEL™ platform addresses this challenge directly, efficiently delivering targeted drugs and potentially transforming how we treat neurological diseases.” Aliada is advancing therapeutic candidates using its Modular Delivery (MODEL™) platform, engineered for high-precision CNS drug delivery. The novel BBB-crossing technology targets transferrin and CD98 receptors (TfR and CD98) which are highly expressed in brain endothelial cells. By engineering highly optimized TfR or CD98 binders, this platform is designed to deliver different types of biological cargoes into the brain, including therapeutic antibodies and genetic medicines such as siRNA. ALIA-1758 utilizes TfR to transport a 3pE-Aβ antibody across the BBB to enable degradation and elimination of amyloid beta plaques, a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. This investigational candidate is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial to assess its safety and tolerability in healthy participants (NCT06406348). Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will acquire all outstanding Aliada equity for $1.4 billion in cash, subject to certain customary adjustments. This transaction is expected to close in 4Q2024, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Advisors AbbVie’s legal advisor was Covington & Burling LLP. Aliada’s exclusive financial advisor was Centerview Partners LLC and Fenwick & West LLP served as legal advisor. About AbbVie AbbVie’s mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people’s lives across several key therapeutic areas – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com . Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook , Instagram , X (formerly Twitter) , and YouTube. About Aliada Therapeutics Aliada Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on addressing delivery challenges in CNS drug development. Aliada is developing next-generation CNS therapeutics with its novel BBB-crossing Modular Delivery (MODEL™) platform technology, which has been shown to efficiently transport diverse therapeutic cargoes into the brain, enhancing effectiveness and addressing the critical need for efficient and versatile large molecule and oligonucleotide delivery. Johnson & Johnson (through its venture capital arm, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc.), RA Capital Management, and Raven (RA Capital Management’s incubator) co-founded Aliada and co-led the series seed financing in 2021 to advance the MODEL™ platform created by Johnson & Johnson scientists that was licensed to Aliada at its inception. Further investment was made by OrbiMed and Sanofi Ventures. For more information visit www.aliadatx.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X . SOURCE: AbbVie

Initial pilot study data validate feasibility and applicability of HERC in advancing equitable cancer care delivery at leading cancer centers. MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) is presenting preliminary data from a study evaluating the usability of the Health Equity Report Card (HERC) tool during the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting and Expo. Continue Reading The HERC was created by the Elevating Cancer Equity collaboration between NCCN, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), and the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) and updated by a subsequent working group. It features 19 practice evaluation and change recommendations designed to help providers and healthcare organizations identify and address disparity and bias in care delivery, address social determinants of health, and overcome systemic barriers to optimal care. "[This demonstrates] the HERC's potential as a transformative tool for measuring and improving equity in cancer care." Post this All 19 Health Equity Report Card (HERC) recommendations can be found at NCCN.org/HERC. The study abstract is available at APHA's website at . "Studies clearly show that unequal experiences and opportunities in cancer care result in worse outcomes and shorter life-expectancies for people in underserved communities," stated Taneal D. Carter, MS, MPA, Manager, NCCN Cancer Care Equity Program. "The HERC was initially designed as an objective approach to increase equity in cancer care through attainable and measurable change. This initial pilot study data illustrates just how attainable these goals really are. We are proud to announce that every participating site reported HERC implementation would either inform or reinforce necessary changes in institutional practices and processes." The Health Equity Report Card (HERC) measures care systems' equitable practices across 4 domains: Community Engagement Accessibility of Care and Social Determinants of Health Addressing Bias in Care Delivery Quality and Comprehensiveness of Care The pilot study focused on gathering feedback from five leading academic cancer centers, to gauge the feasibility and usability of the HERC tool. Pre-implementation surveys showed that three of the five cancer centers anticipated challenges in implementing the tool, but all five centers successfully completed a first round of self- and third-party scoring across all domains. Every site strongly agreed or agreed that HERC performance measures, metrics, and sources of evidence were applicable to their institution. "These preliminary findings demonstrate the HERC's usability and underscore its potential as a transformative tool for measuring and improving equity in cancer care," said Crystal S. Denlinger, MD, Chief Executive Officer, NCCN. "We are happy to be able to share this initial data, showcasing how participating sites found the HERC's performance measures to be relevant to their institutions. We look forward to additional analysis of the data and ongoing feedback to further improve the utility of this tool." An article with full results following the first round of scoring—including a subsequent score and improved scorecard—will be publishing in the coming months. Additional evaluation is underway into the HERC's scoring, feedback mechanisms, and impact on cancer care, including a separate pilot project conducted in the community cancer center setting. The HERC pilot program at academic cancer centers is made possible through support from AbbVie Inc.; 2seventy bio; Genentech, Inc.; Lilly; and Sanofi Genzyme. The HERC Community Project is part of the Alliance for Equity in Cancer Care, made possible through support from the Merck Foundation. It is also supported by contributions from Bristol Myers Squibb; GlaxoSmithKline LLC; Lilly; and Pfizer Inc. Visit NCCN.org/equity to learn more about NCCN's ongoing work to improve equity in cancer care. About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN ®) is a not-for-profit alliance of leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education. NCCN is dedicated to improving and facilitating quality, effective, equitable, and accessible cancer care so all patients can live better lives. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines ®) provide transparent, evidence-based, expert consensus recommendations for cancer treatment, prevention, and supportive services; they are the recognized standard for clinical direction and policy in cancer management and the most thorough and frequently-updated clinical practice guidelines available in any area of medicine. The NCCN Guidelines for Patients® provide expert cancer treatment information to inform and empower patients and caregivers, through support from the NCCN Foundation®. NCCN also advances continuing education, global initiatives, policy, and research collaboration and publication in oncology. Visit NCCN.org for more information. Media Contact: Rachel Darwin 267-622-6624 [email protected] SOURCE National Comprehensive Cancer Network WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

AbbVie said Monday it will pay $1.4 billion in cash to buy a Phase 1 Alzheimer’s and neuroscience biotech, extending the company’s reach into CNS R&D and marking its third acquisition of the year. Buying Aliada Therapeutics adds to AbbVie’s big bet on CNS medicines after spending $8.7 billion last year to acquire Cerevel Therapeutics. The Chicago area pharma’s CNS pipeline already includes late-stage Parkinson’s programs, three Phase 2 Alzheimer’s drugs and other experimental medicines for major depressive disorder, schizophrenia and epilepsy. Boston-based Aliada is developing a platform licensed from Johnson & Johnson that helps drugs cross the blood-brain barrier to get at the root of central nervous system diseases. In a news release, Aliada chief medical officer Michael Ryan said “many promising CNS-targeted therapies fail to reach late-stage trials due to their inability to cross the blood-brain barrier.” The company’s lead drug, ALIA-1758, is in Phase 1 testing for Alzheimer’s. The study is investigating intravenous (or under-the-skin) doses of the anti-pyroglutamate amyloid beta antibody. Three amyloid-targeting Alzheimer’s drugs — from Eisai/Biogen and Eli Lilly — have been approved in the past few years. Neuroscience has become a fixture for AbbVie alongside immunology as Humira battles biosimilar competition. Company executives previously flagged room for growth in the CNS treatment landscape. “If you look at migraine, unipolar depression, depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, all these other states that we’d be interested in, there’s still a tremendous amount of room to gain efficacy to get to a cure-like level,” AbbVie chief scientific officer Roopal Thakkar said in January at the JPM Healthcare Conference, according to an AlphaSense transcript. “A huge unmet need still exists.” According to an SEC filing , Aliada raised about $32 million in seed funding from J&J, RA Capital, Sanofi Ventures and OrbiMed. The company was led by CEO Adam Rosenberg from its founding in 2021 until February of this year and was co-founded by former J&J leader Sanjaya Singh, who’s a scientific advisor to the company and now CSO of Third Arc Bio . It previously inked a deal around lysosomal storage disorder medicines with Chiesi Global Rare Diseases. The companies anticipate the deal will close before the end of the year. AbbVie also bought I&I biotechs Celsius and Landos Biopharma earlier this year. It also marks yet another M&A deal in which a large pharma has bought a nimble, privately-held biotech for $2 billion or less, extending a streak of small tuck-in deals. There have been more than 15 such deals this year, according to an Endpoints News tally.