iBio's $29M Deal with AstralBio for Muscle-Preserving Obesity Treatment

AI antibody therapeutics company, iBio, has entered a USD 29 mn agreement with AstralBio to develop a preclinical anti-myostatin antibody, IBIO-600, aimed at promoting weight loss while preserving muscle mass. Preclinical studies of IBIO-600 have already demonstrated the drug’s ability to inhibit myostatin, a negative regulator of muscle growth, thus suggesting its potential to enhance muscle preservation during weight loss.

The deal between the two companies includes an upfront payment of USD 750,000 and potential milestone payments up to USD 28 mn. In vivo studies in rodents and nonhuman primates are expected to yield results in early 2025, with clinical trials anticipated to commence in 2026.

The following article originally appeared in Fierce Biotech.

San Diego-based iBio has signed a backloaded agreement with its existing partner AstralBio for a preclinical anti-myostatin antibody that it hopes can induce weight loss while retaining muscle mass.

iBio is only fronting $750,000 in the latest deal but has pledged milestone payments that could reach $28 million, according to a Jan. 2 release. The antibody in question, dubbed IBIO-600, has shown potential in preclinical studies to inhibit myostatin, meaning it “effectively block[s] inhibitory effects on muscle growth,” iBio said.

By binding to the FcRn receptor with “more than 10-fold higher affinity than normal IgG,” the companies also believe that the subcutaneously administered IBIO-600 holds potential for reduced dosing frequency. It’s still early days, with in vivo studies in rodents and nonhuman primates due to start reading out in early 2025 and clinical trials not expected until 2026.

Avoiding muscle loss while reducing dosing frequency have been two of the key goals of next-gen obesity drugs being developed by the likes of Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Amgen and Roche, to name a few.

IBIO-600 is the product of an existing relationship between iBio and Boston-based AstralBio signed in March 2024 that saw the two biotechs advance a joint myostatin program for cardiometabolic disease and obesity using iBio’s AI-powered “technology stack.” In this case, IBIO-600 was identified by cardiometabolic-focused AstralBio using iBio’s stack.

“The rapid advancement of a highly differentiated and developable anti-myostatin antibody in just seven months from inception to dosing in a non-human-primate study is a testament to the power and speed of our drug discovery platform and our collaboration with AstralBio to deliver results quickly,” iBio CEO and Chief Scientific Officer Martin Brenner, Ph.D., said in yesterday’s release.

“Our goal is to develop therapeutics that offer patients quality weight loss by reducing obesity, preserving muscle mass, and promoting muscle growth while avoiding weight regain,” Brenner continued. “Adding a novel myostatin/activin A bispecific antibody expands our pipeline of obesity drug candidates and has potential as a treatment for several additional cardiometabolic disorders.”

iBio describes itself as an “AI-driven innovator” that uses computational biology and 3D modeling to find treatments for cancer and other diseases that “decrease drug failures, shorten drug development timelines, and open up new frontiers against the most promising targets.”

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