SixPeaks Bio AG

关注并星标CPHI制药在线 ActRⅡ存在于脂肪和肌肉细胞中。在脂肪细胞中，激活素通过ActRⅡ进行脂质存储，阻断该信号通路可促进脂肪代谢。在肌肉细胞中，ActRⅡ受体传导的信号通路能够抑制肌肉生长并导致其萎缩，阻断骨骼肌中的激活素信号可以抑制这种萎缩，并可以促进肌肉质量的增加，帮助肥胖患者在减肥的同时改善身体成分和代谢。因此，ActRⅡ认为是下一代热门减肥药物的开发靶点。 关于ActRⅡ ActRII，即激活素Ⅱ型受体，是转化生长因子β（TGF-β）受体家族的成员，包括活化素A和活化素B，以及BMP7、BMP9、BMP10、GDF1、GDF8（Myostatin）、 GDF11和Nodal在内的其他TGF-β家族成员的II型受体。 ActRII有ACVR2A（又称为ActRIIA）和ACVR2B（又称为ActRIIB）两种，其多个配体被证明是骨骼肌质量负调控因子，如Activin和GDF11，其中ActRIIB最初被确定为GDF8的主要受体。 ActRII的生物学功能与激活素I型受体（ActRI）密不可分。激活素、GDF8和GDF11通过ActRII和ActRI触发信号传导。ActRII是主要的配体结合受体，与ActRII结合后，配体和ActRII与ActRI形成复合物，刺激细胞质中Smad2和Smad3转录因子的磷酸化。磷酸化的Smad2/3随后转运至细胞核，调节包括MyoD在内的靶基因的转录。其中GDF8/ActRII通路被确定为调节骨骼肌大小的关键。 激活素与ActRII结合后触发的信号是机体胚胎发育、器官形成、激素合成、细胞分化、免疫调节等重要生理活动的执行者，其异常与多种疾病高度相关，包括代谢性和免疫性等多种疾病类型，如骨骼肌肉萎缩、肥胖、贫血、肺纤维化。 ActRII靶点进展 目前全球监管机构已批准两款ActRII药物，即BMS的ActRIIB-Fc融合蛋白药物Luspatercept和默沙东/Acceleron的ActRIIA-Fc融合蛋白药物Sotatercept。 Luspatercept是一种可溶性融合蛋白,由人免疫 球蛋白G1（IgG1）的Fc结构域与ActRIIB的细胞外结构域融合而成。Luspatercept能够作为TGF-β的配体陷阱，防止TGF-β激活Smad2/3信号通路，进而促进晚期红细胞的分化和成熟，提高血红蛋白水平。目前，Luspatercept已在美国获批三项适应症：需要定期输注红细胞（RBC）的成人β-地中海贫血；骨髓增生异常综合征（MDS）伴环形铁粒幼细胞或骨髓增生异常/骨髓增殖性肿瘤伴环形铁粒幼细胞和血小板增多相关贫血；未经红细胞生成刺激剂（ESA）治疗、需要定期接受红细胞输注（RBC）的中低危MDS成人患者的贫血。该药最初由BMS旗下的新基研发，新基在与BMS整合前，曾与 Acceleron联合开发 Luspatercept。 Sotatercept是一款ActRIIA融合蛋白，其将ActRIIA经过改造的细胞外域与抗体的Fc端融合在一起，可以阻断激活素与细胞膜上的受体结合，从而降低激活素介导的信号传导。2024年3月，该药被FDA批准用于治疗成人肺动脉高压（PAH），以提高运动能力，改善WHO功能分级，并降低临床事件恶化风险。值得一提的是，Sotatercept最初由Acceleron 研发，2021年10月默沙东斥资115亿美元收购Acceleron，将Sotatercept纳入囊中。据Evaluate预测，Sotatercept 2028年销售额有望达到26亿美元，产品的净现值达116亿美元。 此外，据公开资料全球还有多款在研ActRII药物，详见下表。在研ActRII药物适应症多样，涉及骨髓增生异常综合征、肥胖、肺动脉高压等。ActRII药物的药物类型也比较多元化，涉及抗体类融合蛋白、单特异性抗体和双特异性抗体。 研发进度上，在研ActRII药物大多处于临床前阶段。Elritercept和Bimagrumab进展较快，已进入临床III期阶段。其中Elritercept（KER-050）是一种工程化配体陷阱，由ActRIIA的修饰配体结合域与人类抗体Fc结构域部分融合组成。 2021年12月，翰森制药与Keros Therapeutics达成合作协议，获得KER-050的大中华区权益，翰森制药将支付2000万美元预付款以及1.705亿美元里程碑金额，外加两位数比例的销售分成。 2024 EHA上公布的Elritercept在较低风险MDS患者中开展的临床II期试验数据显示：55.6%的患者在治疗的前24周内达到了血液学改善红系反应（HI-E）和/或输血独立，包括50.0%的高输血负担患者。基线促红细胞生成素（EPO）<500U/L的患者与总体患者相比总缓解率（ORR）更高（60.6% vs 55.6%），且非环状铁粒细胞（RS） MDS患者中的8周以上输血独立率显著较高（40% vs 22.2%），特别是在高输血负担患者中（50% vs 23.1%）。同时，基线EPO<500U/L的患者中有26例（32%）维持了≥24周的输血独立性。 数据截止时，输血独立的中位时间仍未达到，维持了≥24周的输血独立性患者中仍有16例患者持续保持输血独立性，11例（11/16）输血独立时间超过52周，其中6例在基线时具有高输血负担。对于输血独立患者，FACIT-疲劳评分的平均改善在24周内超过了临床意义阈值，特别是对于那些输血独立超过24周的患者，研究观察到了血红蛋白和血小板上升。 安全性方面，97.7%的患者经历了治疗期间不良事件（TEAE），大多数为轻度至中度。最常见的TEAE为腹泻（27.6%）、疲劳（25.3%）、呼吸困难（20.7%）、头晕（19.5%）、COVID-19（18.4%）、恶心（18.4%）和贫血（17.2%）。 Bimagrumab是一种靶向ActRII的人单克隆抗体，礼来通过斥资19亿美元收购Versanis将其纳入囊中。Bimagrumab在肥胖或超重2型糖尿病患者中开展的临床II期试验的第48周数据显示：与安慰剂相比，Bimagrumab 组受试者总体脂肪减少（-20.5% vs-0.5%）,去脂体重增加（+3.6%vs-0.8%），腰围减少（-9cm vs +0.5cm），体重减少（-6.5% vs-0.8%）。安全性方面，Bimagrumab组最常报告的不良事件是轻度腹泻(41% vs 11%)和肌肉痉挛(41% vs 3%)，其中首次给药后腹泻频率最高，此后逐渐减少。2024年10月，Bimagrumab联合替尔泊肽增肌减脂的临床II期临床启动。 Cibotercept（KER-012）处于临床II期阶段。该药是Keros Therapeutics开发的一款蛋白质治疗候选产品，由与人类抗体Fc结构域部分融合的ActRIIB的修饰配体结合结构域组成，其被设计用于结合并抑制包括激活素A和激活素B在内的TGF-β配体的信号转导，从而潜在地增加骨骼质量。同时，KER-012介导的对激活素A和激活素B的抑制也具有增加BMP信号通路的潜力。目前，Keros正在针对KER-012开展一项探讨KER-012联合背景疗法治疗成人肺动脉高压(PAH)的安全性和有效性的研究（NCT05975905）。 已公布的KER-012在健康绝经后妇女中开展的临床I期试验数据显示：与安慰剂相比，单次给予KER-012后，受试者中与炎症和结构重塑通路相关的血清蛋白发生了改变，例如纤维化标志物MMP-7和MMP-10减少、促炎细胞因子IL-6和IL-11减少、抗炎细胞因子IL-4和IL-35增加，以及巨噬细胞极化标志物MARCO和sCD163增加。此外，接受KER-012的受试者的心脏功能障碍生物标志物血清N末端脑钠肽前体（NT-proBNP）也持续减少。 LAE102、STM 434处于临床I期，其中LAE102是来凯医药自主研发的一款针对ActRIIA的选择性单克隆抗体，相较Bimagrumab有望提升安全性，公司计划将其开发用于治疗肥胖和代谢疾病、肺动脉高压等。在临床前研究中，LAE102已显示出增加肌肉并减少脂肪的效果。而且，LAE102与GLP-1受体激动剂联用，可进一步减少脂肪，并显著降低GLP-1受体激动剂导致的肌肉流失。2024年上半年，LAE102先后在美国和中国获批临床，针对肥胖。2024年6月，该药在国内针对超重/肥胖的临床I期试验完成首例患者给药。 此外，来凯医药围绕ActRII受体还自主开发两款候选药物，即ActRIIB选择性抗体LAE103和ActRIIA/IIB双靶点抑制剂LAE123，拟用于肌肉再生及与之相关的适应症。 ActRII药物减重增肌潜力看好，引发多起合作 整体来看，ActRII靶点并未取得巨大成功，但已引起多家药企重视，并引发多起交易。 2023年7月，礼来斥资19.25亿美元收购Versanis Bio。Versanis Bio旨在开发一种治疗代谢性疾病和肥胖症的first-in-class疗法，其核心产品Bimagrumab是一种结合激活素II型A和B受体以阻断激活素和肌肉抑制素信号传导的单克隆抗体，目前正在BELIEVE IIb期研究中单独进行评估，并与Semaglutide（司美格鲁肽）联合治疗成人超重或肥胖。 2024年5月，阿斯利康与SixPeaks达成了一项战略合作。据合作协议，阿斯利康参与A轮融资，并承诺提供包括预付款和短期付款在内的最高8000万美元资金。作为交换，阿斯利康获得在公司为其主导抗体提交IND申请时以预定价格收购SixPeaks的选择权。 SixPeaks致力于开发潜在“first-in-class“和“best-in-class”健康减肥疗法，其研发管线中包含一款旨在保存人体骨骼肌质量，靶向激活素（activin）受体IIA/B的抗体。在小鼠模型中进行的临床前研究表明，SixPeaks的主打在研疗法无论是单独使用，还是与GLP-1受体激动剂联用，在保存肌肉质量方面可能具有“best-in-class”的潜力。 而且，SixPeaks还开发出一种与GLP-1肽偶联的抗激活素受体IIA/B抗体，这可能成为一种潜在“first-in-class”疗法，在最大限度发挥GLP-1受体激动剂介导减重效果的同时保存肌肉质量。 2024年6月，Supercede Therapeutics与复旦大学和华东师范大学达成一项全球权益合作。据协议，Supercede Therapeutics将获得复旦大学和华东师范大学共同研发的处于临床前的小分子抗肿瘤恶病质肌萎缩、肌少症和增肌创新药物全球开发和商业化权益。据悉，该药物是一种新型口服小分子ActRII抑制剂，用于治疗肥胖症。 纵观这三项交易，企业都非常看中ActRII靶点在减重领域的潜力。与目前大火的GLP-1类减重疗法相比，ActRII抑制剂在减少脂肪的同时，还可增加身体的肌肉组成，被认为是下一代减肥药物的“种子选手”。 总结 相较大火的GLP-1靶点，ActRII在减重领域还有很长的路要走。目前，ActRII领域的竞争并不算激烈，在研药物也不多，其中Bimagrumab、LAE102在减重领域进展相对较快。期待ActRII药物早日获得重大突破，破解目前减肥药会使肌肉流失的困局。 END 来源：CPHI制药在线 声明：本文仅代表作者观点，并不代表制药在线立场。本网站内容仅出于传递更多信息之目的。如需转载，请务必注明文章来源和作者。 投稿邮箱：Kelly.Xiao@imsinoexpo.com ▼更多制药资讯，请关注CPHI制药在线▼ 点击阅读原文，进入智药研习社~

In a year when metabolic diseases have drawn major investor interest, the newest player has big-name backing, a sizable war chest and veteran leadership.Kailera Therapeutics, details of which first emerged in May under the name Hercules CM NewCo, emerged from stealth Tuesday with plans to develop a portfolio of GLP-1 drugs for obesity and other metabolic conditions. The drugs were acquired from Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., which had already completed early clinical trials in China for what is now Kailera's lead program, an injectable medicine dubbed KAI-9531.We have an incredible opportunity to develop next-generation treatments for chronic weight management, helping people reclaim their health and live their lives to the fullest, said Ron Renaud, a well-known biotech executive whos become Kaileras CEO.KAI-9531, which targets the GLP-1 and GIP hormone receptors, is being tested in people with obesity and Type 2 diabetes. A Jiangsu Hengrui subsidiary was expected to complete a Phase 2 trial of the drug in Type 2 diabetes earlier this year, and is running two ongoing trials in obesity.Kailera has three other GLP-1 agonists in development, including KAI-7535, which is in clinical testing, as well as two preclinical assets.Though the GLP-1 field is dominated by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, rival pharmas and biotechs alike are working quickly to develop competitors. For instance, Roche and Viking Therapeutics are each developing medicines that act on GLP-1 and GIP, the hormones that are targeted by Lilly's Zepbound.And over the past two years, startups like OrsoBio, SixPeaks Bio and BioAge Labshave raised notable private financings and attracted the attention of pharma partners. The recent IPO performance of BioAge, which pivoted from age-related diseases to obesity drug research, has also suggested investor confidence in the promise of this new wave of metabolic drugs.Renaud, a long-time fixture of the biotech industry, sold his previous three companies: Idenix Pharmaceuticals, bought in a 2014 deal with Merck & Co.; Translate Bio, purchased by Sanofi in 2021; and Cerevel Therapeutics, acquired in 2023 by AbbVie.Kaileras early investors include Atlas Venture, Bain Capital, RTW Investments and Lyra Capital. In May, the venture firms incorporated the company and licensed the drug candidates from Hengrui for $110 million in upfront and near-term payments as well as a roughly 20% equity stake, according to a filing. Bain Capital, where Renaud is a partner, held the largest stake in Kailera as of May at 39%.Joining Renaud on Kaileras leadership team is John Milligan, the former CEO of Gilead Sciences, as chair of the board of directors. '

BioAge Labs has raised $198 million in an initial public offering, the company announced Wednesday, capitalizing on intense investor interest in drugs that can promote weight loss. BioAge, which is evaluating a medicine thats meant to boost the effects of popular obesity drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, sold 11 million shares at $18 apiece in the offering.Those numbers exceed projections set by the company last week, and were accrued shortly after the company had already hiked the size of its offering by 40%.The offering validates a strategic shift by BioAge to one of the hottest areas of pharmaceutical research. The Richmond, California company was founded nearly a decade ago and, as its name suggests, started out working on treatments for age-related diseases.In pursuit of that goal, it licensed an experimental drug from Amgen called azelaprag in 2021 and aimed to test it as a way to preserve muscle mass in the elderly. Phase 1 study results a year later showed the drug had the potential to do so in people 65 or older and on strict bed rest. At the time, the company discussed plans to start a mid-stage trial in people in intensive care.Since then, though, BioAge has positioned azelaprag as an obesity treatment. The company zeroed in on the potential for the drug to address a common concern with weight-loss drugs like Novo Nordisks Wegovy and Eli Lillys Zepbound, which can help people quickly cut weight but lose muscle mass in the process.Last October, BioAge announced plans to start a Phase 2 trial testing azelaprag alongside Zepbound, with the goal of showing the combination drives more weight loss and improves peoples body composition compared to Zepbound alone. Four months later, a group of prominent investors poured $170 million into the company in the type of crossover round designed to form the foundation for an IPO. The round was one of the 10 largest crossover financings for a biotech in the first quarter of 2024, according to a report from investment firm William Blair. Now the company has made it to Wall Street in whats been a difficult time overall for young drugmakers to go public.BioAge Labs' IPO represents more than just a financial milestone; it's a testament to the company's adaptability and the rapidly evolving landscape of metabolic health and longevity research, Kazi Helal, PitchBooks senior healthcare analyst, said in analyst commentary in early September. As the first of potentially many such companies to go public, BioAge's performance will be closely watched by investors, industry players, and healthcare professionals alike.Still, BioAge faces competition. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Biohaven Pharmaceutical and recently launched SixPeaks Bio are among those developing muscle-preserving drugs for obesity. Many other companies, including Lilly and Novo, are advancing different types of weight loss medicines as well. Some are in the advanced stages of clinical testing.BioAge expects to report results from its combination study with Zepbound next year. A second trial testing azelaprag alongside Wegovy will start in 2025 as well, according to its IPO filing.BioAges IPO is the fifth of September, the most in a single month since February, according to BioPharma Dive data. So far, 20 biotechs have priced offerings in 2024, roughly in line the pace of the previous two years. The majority of them, like BioAge, have had programs in clinical testing and raised hundreds of millions of dollars in venture backing.Prior to its offering, BioAge had secured $321 million in private financing. '