Shire and ABB strike deal to develop and commercialize autoimmune diseases treatment

Shire Pharmaceuticals and AB Biosciences have struck a deal to develop and commercialise ABB’s PRIM Program to treat autoimmune diseases and other immune-mediated disorders.

Shire will receive the exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialise intellectual property from the program, paying ABB a license fee and potential research, development and commercial milestone payments.

The PRIM program is a novel protein therapeutic for the treatment of autoimmune disorders and inflammatory diseases. It has shown encouraging preclinical data, including enhanced biological activity relative to currently approved intravenous immunoglobulin therapies in pre-clinical models.

“This agreement provides the opportunity to accelerate the development of the PRIM program and potentially benefit patients with autoimmune and inflammatory disorders that are currently treated with the traditional human IVIg preparations,” said Yen-Ming Hsu, ABB's president and chief executive officer.

"As a global biotech leader in the development and commercialization of biologic therapeutics, Shire is the ideal development and commercialization partner for our innovative PRIM program, particularly given their proven developmental expertise and continuing success in their IVIg commercial franchise.”

Andreas Busch, Head of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer at Shire said, “AB Biosciences has demonstrated innovation in the area of antibody technology and protein design, and Shire is pleased to continue to advance this program.”

“The novel design of this investigational antibody-derived recombinant protein therapeutic and promising biological activity demonstrated in preclinical models makes the PRIM program an exciting opportunity for Shire to further expand its leadership and commitment to treating patients with autoimmune disorders,” he added.