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Aurinia Acquires Novel Pipeline Assets Targeting Autoimmune and Kidney-related Diseases
- Assets expand immunology portfolio to include B-cell therapy (BAFF/APRIL) and macrophage modulation - - IND-enabling studies are ongoing and will support
About this update from Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n- Assets expand immunology portfolio to include B-cell therapy (BAFF/APRIL) and macrophage modulation -\n\n- IND-enabling studies are ongoing and will support the transition of these assets to clinical development in 2022/2023 -\n\n VICTORIA, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nAurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUPH) (Aurinia or the Company) today announced the addition of two novel assets that will expand the Company’s rare autoimmune and kidney-related disease pipeline.\n\n“Over the past year, in anticipation of building out and diversifying our development pipeline, we have brought on additional large and small molecule expertise that uniquely aligns with Aurinia’s focus on immunology and nephrology,” said Peter Greenleaf, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aurinia. “These transactions are transformational for Aurinia as they allow us to leverage our existing R&D capabilities and commercial experience to support a balanced pipeline and advance innovative therapeutic solutions to help people living with rare autoimmune diseases.”\n\nAUR200: Recombinant Fc Protein Targeting BAFF/APRIL\n\nThe first program, AUR200, was acquired by way of Aurinia purchasing all of the common stock of Thunderbolt Pharma, Inc. (Thunderbolt), a private company. AUR200 is a recombinant Fc fusion protein designed to specifically block B-cell Activating Factor, known as BAFF, and A Proliferation-Inducing Ligand, known as APRIL. BAFF and APRIL promote B cell survival and differentiation and have been shown to play a prominent role in the pathogenesis of certain autoimmune and nephrology conditions.\n\nFor the acquisition, Aurinia made an aggregate upfront payment of $750,000 USD to the shareholders of Thunderbolt and will be responsible for future regulatory milestones upon investigational new drug (IND) acceptance by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or any equivalent authority. Additionally, Thunderbolt shareholders will receive low single digit royalties on any future net sales. AUR200 is currently undergoing pre-clinical development with projected submission of an IND to the FDA by the end of 2022.\n\n“BAFF/APRIL inhibition has been extensively studied and established as an important approach to managing immunologic response,” said Neil Solomons, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Aurinia. “We are encouraged by AUR200’s uniq...