GHENT, Belgium -Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX] today announced that Boehringer Ingelheim has selected a Nanobody lead candidate for further development for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. This is the first lead candidate emerging from the Alzheimer’s disease collaboration between Ablynx and Boehringer Ingelheim, and will result in a €2 million milestone payment to Ablynx.
 
In January 2007, Boehringer Ingelheim and Ablynx announced that they had entered into a worldwide research and licensing agreement to discover and develop new therapies for Alzheimer’s disease using Ablynx’s Nanobodies, worth a possible $265 million in milestone payments plus undisclosed royalties. Boehringer Ingelheim is solely responsible for the development, manufacture and commercialization of any products resulting from the research collaboration.

” Ablynx’s delivery of this potentially ‘first-in-class’ Nanobody candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease highlights the speed at which we progressed from initiation of the discovery programme in 2007 to this stage of development for a very challenging target”, said Dr. Edwin Moses, CEO and Chairman of Ablynx. He added: ” This lead candidate demonstrates the power of the Nanobody platform in addressing a complex disease such as Alzheimer’s.”

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About Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in adults. It is estimated to affect 4.5 million Americans and over 30 million people worldwide with an average course of 8 -12 years. It is projected that the prevalence of AD will double over the next 20 years. Marketed treatments address some symptoms, however there are no treatments available that delay or halt the progression of the disease. Global sales of Alzheimer’s drugs were approximately $5 billion in 2008 and are expected to exceed $14 billion by 2015.