Abilita Therapeutics and Orion Announce Research Collaboration to Develop Next-Generation Antibody Therapeutics in the Areas of Oncology and Pain

• Collaboration leverages Abilita's pioneering EMP™ antibody discovery platform for challenging multi-span membrane protein (MMP) targets
• Orion has an option to license an undisclosed Abilita discovery program and select two additional MMP targets for drug discovery over the collaboration period
• Abilita has the potential to earn up to $785 million plus royalties on commercial sales

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Abilita Therapeutics, Inc. ("Abilita") today announced a global licensing and multi-target research collaboration with Finnish Orion Corporation ("Orion") focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of next generation antibody therapeutics in the areas of oncology and pain. The companies will leverage Abilita's proprietary Enabled Membrane Proteins (EMP™) platform to unlock challenging MMP targets. Abilita will be responsible for discovery and lead optimization efforts. Orion will have an exclusive option to license development candidates to each target for continued development and commercialization. 

"This collaboration combines Abilita's strength in discovering breakthrough antibody therapeutics for challenging membrane protein targets with Orion's proven expertise in oncology, pain, clinical development, and commercialization," said Mauro Mileni, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Abilita. "We are excited to leverage our EMP™ platform, the most advanced directed evolution approach, to unlock targets to generate high-value therapeutics. The partnership with Orion allows us to accelerate promising therapeutics into the clinic as part of our broader plan to advance our pipeline."

"We are looking forward to this exciting collaboration with Abilita. Orion is dedicated to improving the lives of the patients through innovative R&D and gaining access to Abilita's proprietary EMP™ technology provides us new opportunities on our path to develop novel therapies," said Outi Vaarala, Senior Vice President, Innovative Medicines and Research & Development at Orion.

Under the agreement, Orion will have an exclusive option to license an undisclosed Abilita discovery program upon identification of a development candidate. Orion will have the option to nominate two additional MMP targets under the same option to license arrangement. In addition to the upfront payments for each target, Orion will also fund all joint discovery efforts. In total, Abilita has the potential to earn up to $785 million in milestone payments for all three targets plus royalties on commercial sales.

About Abilita Therapeutics

Abilita Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately held, innovation-driven biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing therapeutics targeting the most challenging and medically important multi-span membrane proteins (MMPs) across a variety of indications. GPCRs, ion channels, and transporters are the targets of about 60% of today's medicines, highlighting their medical importance. Abilita's validated drug discovery engine builds on the foundation of its powerful EMP™ target evolution platform and deep membrane protein expertise to a suite of internal discovery technologies to create important therapeutics for previously undruggable targets. Two Bear Capital is the lead investor supporting Abilita. For more information, visit www.abilitatx.com. 

About Orion

Orion is a globally operating Finnish pharmaceutical company – a builder of well-being for over a hundred years. We develop, manufacture and market human and veterinary pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Orion has an extensive portfolio of proprietary and generic medicines and consumer health products. The core therapy areas of our pharmaceutical R&D are oncology and pain. Proprietary products developed by Orion are used to treat cancer, neurological diseases and respiratory diseases, among others. Orion's net sales in 2023 amounted to EUR 1,190 million and the company had about 3,600 employees at the end of the year. Orion's A and B shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. 

Contact Person:

Joel Edwards, Chief Business Officer
Abilita Therapeutics
e-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Abilita Therapeutics