BioArctic Announces Research Collaboration with Eisai Regarding BAN2401

STOCKHOLM, Dec. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- BioArctic AB (publ) (Nasdaq Stockholm: BIOA B) announced today the initiation of a research collaboration with Eisai aimed at further studying the unique profile of the investigational drug candidate BAN2401.

The research collaboration with Eisai is in addition to the existing development and commercialization agreement for BAN2401. This new research collaboration is intended to further characterize the unique binding profile of BAN2401.

"We welcome the opportunity to join forces with Eisai in this initiative to generate additional knowledge about the unique properties of BAN2401. This may increase the understanding of the link between BAN2401's mechanism of action and the encouraging results achieved in the Phase 2b study in early Alzheimer's disease," comments BioArctic's CEO, Gunilla Osswald.

Payments to BioArctic under this research collaboration total up to a potential EUR 3.25 million (approximately SEK 34 million). The research program is planned to continue through the end of June 2021 and results are expected to be presented at future scientific conferences.

This release discusses investigational uses of an agent in development and is not intended to convey conclusions about efficacy or safety. There is no guarantee that any investigational uses of such product will successfully complete clinical development or gain health authority approval.

This information is information that BioArctic AB (publ) is obliged to disclose pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was released for public disclosure, through the agency of the contact persons above, on December 17, 2019, 3:45 pm CET.

About BAN2401

BAN2401 is an investigational humanized monoclonal antibody that is the result of a strategic research alliance between BioArctic and Eisai. BAN2401 has a unique binding profile and selectively binds to and eliminates soluble, toxic amyloid beta aggregates (protofibrils and oligomers) that are thought to contribute to the neurodegenerative process in Alzheimer's disease. As such, BAN2401 may have the potential to have an effect on the disease pathology and to slow down the progression of the disease. Eisai obtained the global rights to study, develop, manufacture and market BAN2401 for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease pursuant to an agreement concluded with BioArctic in December 2007. In March 2014, Eisai and Biogen entered into a joint development and commercialization agreement for BAN2401. Currently, a global confirmatory Phase 3 clinical study (Clarity AD) of BAN2401 in patients with early Alzheimer's disease is underway. According to Eisai, the final readout of the primary endpoint of the study is targeted for 2022.

About the collaboration between BioArctic and Eisai

Since 2005, BioArctic has long-term collaboration with Eisai regarding the development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The development and commercialization agreement for BAN2401 was signed in December 2007, and the agreement for the BAN2401 back-up was signed in May 2015. Eisai is responsible for the clinical development, application for market approval and commercialization of the products for Alzheimer's disease. BioArctic has no costs for the clinical development of BAN2401 in Alzheimer's disease.

About BioArctic AB

BioArctic AB (publ) is a Swedish research-based biopharma company focusing on disease-modifying treatments and reliable biomarkers and diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. BioArctic focuses on innovative treatments in areas with high unmet medical needs. The company was founded in 2003 based on innovative research from Uppsala University, Sweden. Collaborations with universities are of great importance to the company together with its strategically important global partners in the Alzheimer (Eisai) and Parkinson (AbbVie) projects. The project portfolio is a combination of fully funded projects run in partnership with global pharmaceutical companies and innovative in-house projects with significant market- and out-licensing potential. BioArctic's B-share is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm Mid Cap (ticker: BIOA B). For more information about BioArctic, please visit www.bioarctic.com.

About Eisai Co., Ltd.

Eisai Co., Ltd. is a leading global research and development-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. Eisai defines their corporate mission as "giving first thought to patients and their families and to increasing the benefits health care provides," which Eisai calls their human health care (hhc) philosophy. With approximately 10,000 employees working across the global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, Eisai strives to realize their hhc philosophy by delivering innovative products to address unmet medical needs, with a particular focus in the strategic areas of Neurology and Oncology.

Leveraging the experience gained from the development and marketing of Aricept^®, a treatment for Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, Eisai has been working to establish a social environment that involves patients in each community in cooperation with various stakeholders including the government, healthcare professionals and care workers, and is estimated to have held over ten thousand dementia awareness events worldwide. As a pioneer in the field of dementia treatment, Eisai is striving to not only develop next generation treatments but also to develop diagnosis methods and provide solutions. For more information about Eisai Co., Ltd., please visit www.eisai.com.

CONTACT:

For more information, please contact:

Gunilla Osswald, PhD, CEO, BioArctic AB
E-mail: gunilla.osswald@bioarctic.se
Telephone: +46-8-695-69-30

Jan Mattsson, CFO, BioArctic AB
E-mail: jan.mattsson@bioarctic.se
Telephone: +46-70-352-27-72

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SOURCE BioArctic