BioArctic moves forward with its candidate for Parkinson’s

In parallel with the success of the Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab, BioArctic is also developing drugs for other neurodegenerative diseases.

Exidavnemab is a monoclonal antibody designed to selectively bind and eliminate aggregated forms of alpha-synuclein, which is present in Parkinson’s, among others.

In two Phase I studies involving a total of 98 healthy participants, exidavnemab was tested to assess safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics. The results, now published in The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, found that exidavnemab was generally well tolerated, with a half-life of approximately 30 days.

According to BioArctic, the study also showed high affinity and selectivity against aggregated forms of α-synuclein. The company is now proceeding with the development of its drug candidate.

“Data from these two studies support the continued clinical development of exidavnemab, and we look forward to initiating the Phase IIa study later this year,” said Gunilla Osswald, CEO of Bioarctic, in a press release.

The Phase I studies were conducted in collaboration with Abbvie, which in 2022 terminated the collaboration and returned the programme, formerly known as ABBV-0805, to BioArctic.