Press Release Details

• Vaccines can provide safe, long-lasting immunity, and logistical advantages compared to other treatment modalities
   
• Integrating its precision medicine approach, AC Immune is advancing three clinical-stage vaccines targeting Tau, Abeta and α-synuclein
   
• Precisely targeted active immunotherapy may enable prevention of pathological pathways before the occurrence of irreversible neuronal damage

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Aug. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AC Immune SA (Nasdaq: ACIU), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering precision medicine for neurodegenerative diseases, today hosted key opinion leader (KOL) Cynthia A. Lemere, Ph.D., of the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, for a webinar focused on vaccines to treat and prevent Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Over 180 participants from the investment and biopharmaceutical industries registered to attend the webinar, which included presentations from Dr. Lemere and members of AC Immune’s management team, as well as a question-and-answer session. To view a replay of the event, please click here.

During the event, presenters discussed how vaccination can provide safe, long-lasting immunity, and logistical advantages over other treatment modalities. A summary of this discussion is provided below:

• Vaccines stimulate antibody responses that simultaneously target multiple pathological epitopes, providing potential for higher efficacy compared to agents targeting single epitopes
• Vaccines enhance the individual immune response by allowing the immune system to optimize antibodies for a specific proteinopathy over time
• Vaccine-induced antibodies are produced by the patient’s own immune system, which confers continual functionality advantages over exogenously prepared antibodies
• Vaccines provide long-lasting immune activation and consistent antibody titers, which may improve safety and long-term efficacy compared to passive immunotherapies
• Vaccination may enable annual or bi-annual dosing schedules that improve costs and patient compliance

Dr. Lemere commented: “The ability of vaccines to safely and specifically target multiple epitopes on the toxic drivers of neurodegenerative disease makes them uniquely suited to address the unmet needs of patients. Data from prior clinical studies conducted by AC Immune and others clearly highlight the therapeutic potential of vaccines and provide a strong scientific rationale for the Company’s ongoing and planned trials. These are further supported by recent data generated with monoclonal antibodies against therapeutic targets such as pyroglutamate-Abeta. Furthermore, the innovative designs of these trials may enable rapid demonstration of clinical proof-of-concept, which would represent an important step toward making prevention a practical reality for at-risk people.”          

During the webinar, AC Immune management provided an overview of AC Immune’s industry-leading pipeline of vaccines-candidates to treat and prevent neurodegenerative disease. These include:

• ACI-35.030, an anti-phospho-Tau vaccine derived from AC Immune’s SupraAntigen®-V platform and partnered with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Previously reported interim data from an ongoing Phase 1b/2 trial of ACI-35.030 in Alzheimer’s disease provided clinical validation for SupraAntigen®-V by showing no safety concerns, robust immunogenicity, and evidence of a lasting immune response that supports a disease prevention approach. The disclosure of late-stage development plans for ACI-35.030 is expected in 2022.
• ACI-24.060, an anti-Abeta vaccine that targets the protein’s two most toxic forms, pyroglutamate-Abeta and oligomeric Abeta. ACI-24.060 is being evaluated in the Phase 1b/2 ABATE study in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and individuals with Down syndrome. Interim data from the trial, which has an innovative, biomarker-based design that can accelerate time to clinical proof-of-concept and the transition to pivotal studies, are expected in 2022.
• ACI-7104, an anti-α-synuclein vaccine being developed as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease and other α-synucleinopathies. AC Immune expects to initiate an adaptive, biomarker-based Phase 2 trial of ACI-7104 in Parkinson’s disease patients in 2022.

Dr. Andrea Pfeifer, CEO of AC Immune commented: “Our clinical-stage vaccines target three key hallmarks of neurodegenerative disease. We believe these programs, together with our cutting-edge diagnostic imaging agents, position AC Immune to lead the field towards the earlier diagnosis and prevention of neurodegenerative disease. We thank Dr. Lemere for providing expert commentary on the potential benefits that effective vaccinations can offer patients and we look forward to the first clinical data with our wholly-owned ACI-24.060 vaccine.”

About the SupraAntigen® platform
AC Immune’s clinically validated SupraAntigen® platform uses proprietary liposomes to rapidly generate novel vaccines (SupraAntigen-V) for active immunization as well as best-in-class monoclonal antibodies (SupraAntigen-A) for passive immunization against key neurodegenerative disease targets. Antibodies generated by the platform are highly specific for the pathological conformations of misfolded proteins and have shown strong safety. The SupraAntigen® platform has successfully generated two vaccines and two antibody candidates that have been validated in clinical studies and has led to multiple global partnerships with world-leading pharmaceutical companies. In addition to targeting Abeta and Tau, AC Immune has generated conformation-specific antibodies against emerging neurodegenerative disease targets including as alpha-synuclein, TDP-43 and the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway.

About AC Immune SA
AC Immune SA is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that aims to become a global leader in precision medicine for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and NeuroOrphan indications driven by misfolded proteins. The Company’s two clinically validated technology platforms, SupraAntigen® and Morphomer®, fuel its broad and diversified pipeline of first- and best-in-class assets, which currently features ten therapeutic and three diagnostic candidates, six of which are currently in phase 2 clinical trials. AC Immune has a strong track record of securing strategic partnerships with leading global pharmaceutical companies including Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, Eli Lilly and Company, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., resulting in substantial non-dilutive funding to advance its proprietary programs and >$3 billion in potential milestone payments.

SupraAntigen® is a registered trademark of AC Immune SA in the following territories: AU, EU, CH, GB, JP, RU and SG. Morphomer® is a registered trademark of AC Immune SA in CN, CH, GB, JP, NO and RU.

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Forward looking statements

This press release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical fact and may include statements that address future operating, financial or business performance or AC Immune’s strategies or expectations. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “projects,” “potential,” “outlook” or “continue,” and other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. These risks and uncertainties include those described under the captions “Item 3. Key Information – Risk Factors” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” in AC Immune’s Annual Report on Form 20-F and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These include: the impact of Covid-19 on our business, suppliers, patients and employees and any other impact of Covid-19. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and AC Immune does not undertake any obligation to update them in light of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable law. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

Source: AC Immune SA