Alchemab Therapeutics – a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of naturally-occurring protective antibodies in neurodegeneration and oncology, has announced an extension of its collaboration with Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC), a national facility enabling the UK’s community to accelerate innovative drug discovery.
The collaboration will functionally characterise antibodies from resilient patients with Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia, previously discovered using Alchemab’s pioneering platform.
Under the agreement, Alchemab and MDC will evaluate antibodies using innovative technologies, including the use of high content imaging, high-resolution microscopy, and spatial transcriptomics to assess endpoints from induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived neuronal and glial cells.
Alchemab and MDC initially entered a collaboration in March of 2021 to develop a landmark novel antibody therapy for Huntington’s disease, exploring adaptive immunity and characterising naturally protective antibodies in resilient patients.
Dr Douglas A. Treco, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Alchemab Therapeutics, said:
“We are very pleased to extend our collaboration with Medicines Discovery Catapult. After great success in our Huntington’s disease program, we are positioned to continue to discover and develop potentially transformative therapies. This collaboration continues to validate Alchemab’s state of the art approach to drug discovery and supports the expansion of our neurodegenerative pipeline into patients with Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia.”
Dr Jane Osbourn, PhD, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Alchemab, said:
“Neurodegenerative conditions, especially Alzheimer’s disease, are impacting a larger patient population every year and can lead to behavioural, cognitive, and psychiatric disorders. Combining Alchemab’s pioneering platform with Medicines Discovery Catapult’s specialised neurodegeneration capabilities will enable us to further understand the complex biology underpinning these devastating conditions and move closer to identifying novel drug targets and disease-modifying therapies. We are delighted to continue the collaboration with Medicines Discovery Catapult and believe it will be integral in finding functional cures for these diseases.”
Dr Martin Main, Head of Molecular Technologies at Medicines Discovery Catapult said:
“The continuation of this collaboration will build upon our previous success applying the learnings from our Huntington’s disease-focused project to a new disease area with significant unmet patient need. We look forward to expanding world-leading innovation in the neurodegenerative space to ultimately help improve the lives of patients living with frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.”
Participant samples used in the study have been collected by University College London (UCL) and the EPAD Consortium, the largest global Alzheimer’s disease repository, and curated at the EPAD BioResource at the University of Edinburgh.
For more information, please visit www.alchemab.com.
