Several months after a major trial setback forced Amylyx Pharmaceuticals to pull its only approved drug from the market, the company is diving into the GLP-1 space with a $35.1 million acquisition of a drug candidate from Eiger BioPharmaceuticals.
In April, Amylyx voluntarily withdrew its ALS drug Relyvrio after it failed a Phase 3 test. The readout — one of the most anticipated biotech events of 2024 — sent company shares plummeting 85%.
On Friday, the Cambridge, MA-based drugmaker secured its deal with Eiger, according to an SEC filing. Under the agreement, Amylyx will get all “assets and interests” related to the “development, manufacture and commercialization” of a GLP-1 antagonist dubbed avexitide.
Avexitide was most recently in Phase 2 development for post-bariatric hypoglycemia as well as congenital hyperinsulinism, according to Eiger’s website. But the Palo Alto, CA-based biotech filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in April.
Unlike blockbuster weight loss and diabetes treatments that agonize the GLP-1 receptor, avexitide works by antagonizing the same receptor, thus counteracting the effects of excessive GLP-1 secretion. Amylyx has not specified the indications in which it will develop avexitide.
The company has said it will continue to develop the withdrawn ALS therapy as well as other candidates for other neurological indications. As recently as last month, the company reiterated its mission to “end the suffering caused by neurodegenerative diseases.”
Insulin-related diseases are not totally new to Amylyx, which has a Phase 2 candidate in development for Wolfram syndrome. The genetic condition often involves childhood-onset insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and affects just 3,000 people in the US. Amylyx’s other clinical-stage programs, however, are all in neurological or neurodegenerative conditions, namely progressive supranuclear palsy, ALS and Alzheimer’s disease.
Amylyx ended the first three months of the year with $373.3 million in cash, equivalents and short-term investments. In April, it axed 70% of its workforce in a bid to extend its cash runway to 2026.