Servier partners with German firm on interferon project

In a fourth collaboration in recent months, French independent drugmaker Servier has set up a worldwide exclusive partnership for the development of a therapeutic autoantibody neutralizing interferon--α, with German biotech firm ImmunoQure.

ImmunoQure works in collaboration with leading academic centers and the APECED Oy patient support group to gain a greater understanding of an ultra-rare disease termed APECED/APS-1. APS-1 is a monogenetic disorder whereby null or hypomorphic mutations in the AIRE gene greatly impair central T cell tolerance. Consequently, APS-1 patients are unable to optimally delete self-reactive T cells, leading to an accumulation of T cells and B cells that target a wide range of self-proteins. Recently, ImmunoQure published a seminal paper in Cell describing the autoantibody repertoire of APS-1 patients, including the presence of ultra-high affinity, biologically neutralizing, pan Interferon- a specific autoantibodies.

Up to 164 million-euro upfront and milestone payments