SAN DIEGO– Autobahn Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on restoring hope for people affected by CNS disorders, today announced it has acquired global rights to ASP3652, a novel oral peripherally restricted fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor from Astellas Pharma Inc. ASP3652 complements Autobahn’s brain-targeting chemistry platform, which uses FAAH-mediated prodrug conversion to enable delivery of small molecules across the blood brain barrier. Peripheral blockade of FAAH activity further improves selective brain delivery of Autobahn’s compounds and enhances the ability to tailor a drug’s biodistribution to match the pathophysiology of various disorders. ASP3652 may be developed in combination with multiple pipeline programs, including with Autobahn’s proprietary selective thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRβ) agonists for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS).
“We are excited by the addition of ASP3652 to our portfolio, which represents a very unique opportunity to enhance central delivery of our next-generation brain-targeting prodrugs for devastating CNS disorders, particularly MS,” said Kevin Finney, chief executive officer of Autobahn. “While there have been numerous advancements in the care of patients with MS, we believe there is a tremendous need for new therapeutic agents targeting remyelination. Based on the data demonstrated to date with ASP3652, we believe its combination with our novel TRβ prodrugs, represents a promising fit-for-purpose and a first-in-class therapeutic approach for MS and enables us to accelerate our development timeline. We are preparing for its continued evaluation as we work to bring novel treatments to patients in need.”
ASP3652 has been previously evaluated in ten clinical studies dosing over 200 unique persons, demonstrating a favorable safety profile as well as elevation of the endogenous substrate anandamide to 24 hours post-dose. This suggests that once-daily dosing of ASP3652 may be sufficient to limit peripheral hydrolysis of Autobahn prodrugs and enhance the therapeutic index of multiple programs. Autobahn has acquired global intellectual property, development and regulatory rights to ASP3652.
