IRLAB Enters a Development Collaboration for IRL757 as a Novel Treatment for Apathy

May 7, 2024

Gothenburg, Sweden, May 7, 2024 – IRLAB Therapeutics AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: IRLAB A), a company discovering and developing novel treatments for Parkinson’s disease, today announced a collaboration agreement between IRLAB and the McQuade Center for Strategic Research and Development, LLC (MSRD), a member of the global Otsuka family of pharmaceutical companies. IRLAB and MSRD will exclusively collaborate in the development of IRLAB’s novel drug candidate IRL757 for the potential treatment of apathy in Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions through clinical proof-of-concept.

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR EUROPEAN MEDICAL & PHARMACEUTICAL TRADE MEDIA AND EUROPEAN FINANCIAL MEDIA ONLY

Gothenburg, Sweden, May 7, 2024 – IRLAB Therapeutics AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: IRLAB A), a company discovering and developing novel treatments for Parkinson’s disease, today announced a collaboration agreement between IRLAB and the McQuade Center for Strategic Research and Development, LLC (MSRD), a member of the global Otsuka family of pharmaceutical companies. IRLAB and MSRD will exclusively collaborate in the development of IRLAB’s novel drug candidate IRL757 for the potential treatment of apathy in Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions through clinical proof-of-concept.

MSRD, which identifies and supports early-stage opportunities that can change the landscape of treatments for mental illness and renal disorders, will collaborate with IRLAB in the exclusive development of IRLAB’s drug candidate IRL757 through completion of certain clinical studies The collaboration may include studies designed to enable the execution of a safety and efficacy signal finding study in Parkinson’s disease and in Alzheimer’s disease. IRLAB is currently initiating the first-in-man Phase I program with IRL757, funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation, with anticipated recruitment starting in Q2, 2024.

Under the current collaboration, IRLAB is eligible to receive 3 million USD in up-front payment and up to an additional 5.5 million USD following the achievement of certain development milestones. MSRD will also fund the drug development activities during the term of the agreement, with the exception of the Phase I program, funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Further, under the terms of the current collaboration agreement, MSRD has the opportunity to elect to expand the collaboration upon the occurrence of certain triggering events, subject to negotiations of a new agreement. MSRD might also, if the parties do not expand the collaboration, under certain circumstances receive low single-digit percentage royalty payments.

“MSRD is committed to support and identify early stage opportunities that can change the landscape of how we treat mental illness in the future. We are excited to collaborate with IRLAB Therapeutics in the development of IRL757, an innovative investigational drug, designed to meet the need for a treatment of apathy in neurological disorders” said Robert McQuade, Ph.D., President, MSRD.

“We are excited about the collaboration with MSRD and Otsuka, who will bring their extensive experience and competence into the development of this innovative treatment of apathy in people living with neurological diseases. We are looking forward to continuing the development of IRL757 together with MSRD and Otsuka through clinical proof of concept”, said Gunnar Olsson, CEO, IRLAB.

For more information

Gunnar Olsson, CEO
Phone: +46 70 576 14 02
E-mail: gunnar.olsson@irlab.se
 
Nicholas Waters, EVP and Head of R&D
Phone: +46 730 75 77 01
E-mail: nicholas.waters@irlab.se

This information is information that IRLAB Therapeutics is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 2024-05-07 17:00 CEST.

About IRL757

The drug candidate IRL757 is being developed as a treatment for apathy in Parkinson's disease and other neurological conditions. Apathy, a widespread and debilitating issue, affects over 20 million people in the U.S. and Europe alone without a currently available treatment. The prevalence is high, occurring in 1.1-4 million people (20–70 percent) being treated with Parkinson’s in the eight major markets (China, EU5, Japan, and the US), and in 4.9-6.7 million people (43–59 percent) being treated for Alzheimer’s disease in the ten major markets (Canada, China, EU5, Japan, South Korea, and the US).

RL757 has the potential to become the first treatment for apathy. IRL757 has shown promising results in various preclinical models, which assess different aspects of cognitive function and motivation. The observed efficacy of IRL757 is thought to be linked to its unique ability to reverse disruption in cortical to sub-cortical nerve signaling, a key factor believed to contribute to apathy in neurological disorders. IRL757 is considered Phase I ready as all preclinical studies and development work necessary to start Phase I is completed.

About IRLAB

IRLAB is discovering and developing a portfolio of transformative therapies targeting all stages of Parkinson’s disease. The company has its origin in Nobel Laureate Prof. Arvid Carlsson’s research group and the discovery of a connection between the brain’s neurotransmitters and CNS disorders. Mesdopetam (IRL790), in development for the treatment of levodopa-induced dyskinesias, has completed Phase IIb and is in preparation toward Phase III. Pirepemat (IRL752), is currently in Phase IIb, being evaluated for its effect on balance and fall frequency in Parkinson’s disease. In addition, the company is also progressing the three preclinical programs IRL757 (financially supported by the Michael J. Fox Foundation), IRL942, and IRL1117 towards Phase I studies. IRLAB’s pipeline has been generated by the company’s proprietary systems biology-based Integrative Screening Process (ISP) research platform. Headquartered in Sweden, IRLAB is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (IRLAB A). For more information, please visit www.irlab.se.

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IRLAB Enters a Development Collaboration for IRL757 as a Novel Treatment for Apathy

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