Aimmune secures licence to Xencor’s XmA 7195 to develop food allergy treatments

Under an exclusive worldwide licence, Aimmune will develop and commercialise the XmAb 7195, an investigational humanised monoclonal antibody.

Xencor president and CEO Dr Bassil Dahiyat said: “Aimmune’s focus, clinical success and regulatory expertise in food allergy demonstrate their capability to advance AIMab7195 with highly complementary CODIT pipeline programs to create new options for people living with food allergy.”

The XmAb719, renamed as AIMab7195, was developed by Xencor to treat allergic asthma. The AIMab7195 is an anti-IgE monoclonal antibody with reinforced binding to the Fc gamma receptor IIb (FcγRIIb).

AIMab7195 has been designed to clear IgE quickly from circulation and restrict the production of IgE by preventing the activation of IgE-positive B cells It will also block IgE from interacting with its receptor on immune cells.

Aimmune’s investigational antibody applies three specific mechanisms of action to minimise blood serum IgE and inhibit IgE-producing cells.

Initially, Aimmune aims to develop AIMab7195 as an adjunctive treatment with select characterised oral desensitised immunotherapy (CODIT) programmes, including Palaforzia, to analyse outcomes in patients with food allergies.

As per terms of the deal, Xencor will secure an upfront payment of $5m from Aimmune, as well as $5m in equity, equivalent to 156,238 newly issued shares of Aimmune common stock at $32.00/share.

Xencor is also provided with an option to secure up to $385m based on the achievement of certain clinical development, regulatory and commercialisation milestones. The payments will start with the initiation of phase 2 clinical trial.

In addition, Xencor will secure a high single-digit to a mid-teen percentage of royalties upon AIMab719 commercialisation.

Aimmune will take responsibility for costs linked to the development of AIMab7195. It intends to reveal a development plan in the coming months.

Aimmune president and CEO Dr Jayson Dallas said: “As we look to the future of food allergy treatments, we are excited to explore the potential of oral immunotherapy to achieve greater levels of desensitization – and perhaps even remission – when combined with adjunctive biologics that target immune pathways.

“In-licensing AIMab7195 demonstrates our commitment to enriching our pipeline and strengthening Aimmune’s global leadership in the evolving therapeutic landscape of food allergy treatments.”

Recently, Aimmune secured approval for Palforzia [Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) Allergen Powder-dnfp] from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients with peanut allergy.