
Aeterna discontinues vaccine development; Idera rebrands as Aceragen
As biotechs start to detail 2023 plans — M&A, new emphases in drug R&D and more with investors — others are starting to trim back or using the new year as an opportunity to do an about-face and try and start with a clean slate.
Three such biotechs unveiled next steps for their respective companies Tuesday morning.
Aeterna axes early-stage vaccine pipeline after reacquiring regional rights to sole product
Aeterna Zentaris is cutting its work on a vaccine platform, which the biotech said had potential applications against chlamydia and Covid-19. However, the company said it had not been able to select a clinical development candidate for a Covid-19 vaccine.
The biotech cited “changes in the global situation” and wanting to be “prudent with the use of resources” as reasons for scrapping the vaccine platform. It is also terminating license agreements with the University of Würzburg for the platform technology.
Meanwhile, the rights to Macrilen, an oral ghrelin agonist indicated to diagnose adult growth hormone deficiency, will be returning back to Aeterna, the original developer. Novo Nordisk offered $145 million and a $36 million equity investment in 2018 to Strongbridge Biopharma to scoop up regional rights in US and Canada for the agonist, after Strongbridge bought the rights from Aeterna for $24 million upfront plus milestones.
Aeterna announced last August that the rights would be returning to the company, following a 270-day period.
CFO Giuliano La Fratta added that the decision to “streamline our pipeline” by ending the vaccine development program extends the company’s cash flow into 2025.
— Paul Schloesser
Idera takes on a new name, ticker after merger and stock split
After merging with a rare disease company, Idera is phasing its name out.
Cancer biotech Idera Pharmaceuticals put out word Tuesday it will be taking on Aceragen’s name and stock ticker $ACGN, effective Wednesday after buying the rare disease company in an all-stock deal. Idera had announced last year it would buy Aceragen after Idera’s lead drug flopped and a collaboration with AbbVie ended.
Shares of the penny stock $IDRA fell 13% after the announcement, currently trading below 50 cents a share.
Idera flunked a Phase III melanoma trial with its Toll-like receptor 9 agonist tilsotolimod back in 2021. While executives hoped trials in other cancers would bring about better results, those failed to pan out, and Idera discontinued enrollment later that year in a Phase II study.
Idera added that with an approved reverse split of common stock at a ratio of 1:17, the company has now gotten back in compliance with Nasdaq.
Aceragen CEO John Taylor said in a statement that for 2023, the company has two planned Phase II readouts for ACG-701, a proprietary oral dosing regimen of sodium fusidate for cystic fibrosis. Additionally, the biotech is moving forward on starting a Phase II/II trial for ACG-801, an enzyme replacement candidate for Farber disease, a disease where a lipid called ceramide accumulates in the body to excess levels and can cause premature death.
That trial, if everything goes to plan, will start sometime in Q1 next year. Currently ACG-801 has orphan drug, fast track and rare pediatric disease designations from FDA.
Even with the merger and regaining compliance with Nasdaq, its available cash is only expected to provide the biotech with runway into Q3 this year. Idera’s latest quarterly filing with the SEC pointed to the company having around $30 million in cash, equivalents and other current assets.
— Paul Schloesser
hC Bioscience acquires University of Chicago spinout
After disclosing another $16 million in financing last November, hC Bioscience put out word it has acquired a startup looking to make tRNA-based therapies.
Takeda-backed hC said it bought 4SR Biosciences, founded in the labs of the University of Chicago’s Christopher Katanski and Tao Pan. Deal terms were not disclosed. Combining the tech, IP and expertise of the two companies will help hC build out therapies for genetic disease and cancer, the biotech said.
The company is attempting to go after tRNA, which peers like Flagship Pioneering’s Alltrna, Shape Therapeutics and Tevard Biosciences think can open up the drug development to treat diseases regardless of gene or location of mutation.
“Bringing their powerful research tools and expertise in tRNA and structural biology in-house enables us to better understand fundamental mechanisms of tRNA biology and disease pathways associated with genetic errors and, importantly, how best to intervene with engineered tRNAs,” said hC CEO Leslie Williams.
— Kyle LaHucik