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Vaccinex, Inc. Announces $60 million Agreement to Finance a Phase 2b clinical trial of pepinemab to treat Alzheimer’s Disease
ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vaccinex, Inc. (VCNX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a differentiated approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by inhibiting semaphorin 4D (SEMA4D) induced pathology in brain, today announced that it has entered into a $60 million revenue sharing agreement with Pepinemab Development Venture, LP (PDV) to continue advancing development of its pepinemab anti-SEMA4D antibody in an enlarged phase 2b clinical trial for treatme
About this update from Vaccinex, Inc.
[{"type":"image","alt":"Vaccinex, Inc.","displaySize":"","headline":null,"caption":"Vaccinex, Inc.","className":"","disableSlideshowImg":false,"size":{"original":{"width":300,"height":80,"url":"https://media.zenfs.com/en/globenewswire.com/878764eb3c52e76763f7259bf60e5828"},"resized":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/e4mMLmu0Yt.1UeEn0MezUA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTQyMDtoPTExMjtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/globenewswire.com/878764eb3c52e76763f7259bf60e5828","width":300,"height":80}},"lazy":false},{"type":"text","content":"ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vaccinex, Inc. (VCNX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a differentiated approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by inhibiting semaphorin 4D (SEMA4D) induced pathology in brain, today announced that it has entered into a $60 million revenue sharing agreement with Pepinemab Development Venture, LP (PDV) to continue advancing development of its pepinemab anti-SEMA4D antibody in an enlarged phase 2b clinical trial for treatment of AD. PDV LP is an investment entity established by FCMI, an existing Vaccinex investor. Albert Friedberg is Chairman of FCMI and of the Vaccinex Board. The agreements provide that, in exchange for the commitment of funding, PDV will receive 50% of future economic proceeds received by Vaccinex from a development partner or licensee of pepinemab related to neurological indications and 25% related to other indications.","length":924,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"This agreement follows on promising data previously reported from studies in animal disease models and in the early stage SIGNAL-AD phase 1/2a clinical trial indicating that treatment with pepinemab antibody (1) blocks crosstalk between reactive astrocytes and microglia that amplifies glial reactivity leading to inflammation and glial scars; (2) preserves vascular integrity in brain; and (3) downregulates expression of AD disease-related proteins in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) including SNAP25 associated with synaptic loss and GAP-43 that promotes tau spreading and accumulation. In addition, data from a randomized Phase 2 study in Huntington’s disease (HD, n=179) as well as the completed SIGNAL-AD phase 1/2a study in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and mild AD (n=50) suggest that pepinemab was well-tolerated and that treatment early in disease has favorable ef...