Boehringer Ingelheim initiates Phase I study with Ablynx nanobody triggering milestone payment

Belgian drug developer Ablynx (Euronext Brussels: ABLX) says its partner, German family owned pharma major Boehringer Ingelheim, has dosed the first healthy volunteers in a Phase I clinical trial as part of the evaluation of a Nanobody for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, triggering a milestone payment of 5 million euros ($6.8 million) to Ablynx.

The Phase I study involves a single-center, partially randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of single ascending doses of intravenous and subcutaneous injections with the Nanobody in healthy subjects. The trial is expected to recruit 80 healthy volunteers and results are anticipated next year.

Edwin Moses, chairman and chief executive of Ablynx, said: “We are very pleased that Boehringer Ingelheim has dosed the first healthy volunteers as part of our collaboration in Alzheimer's disease which we started in 2007. The Nanobody's progress into the clinic demonstrates their belief in its potential as a valuable treatment option for patients suffering from this complex disease for which no adequate drugs are currently available. It is the second of Ablynx' partnered programs that has entered clinical development this year and further enhances our pipeline which now contains seven Nanobody products at clinical development stage.”