Muna-GSK alliance to fast-track Alzheimer’s disease treatments

Muna Therapeutics has entered a research alliance with GSK to expedite Alzheimer’s disease treatments by discovering and validating new drug targets.

The partnership is set to leverage Muna’s MiND-MAP platform’s spatial transcriptomics to analyse brain samples from groups including Alzheimer’s patients and cognitively resilient individuals.

It also utilises Muna’s expertise in mapping the response of the brain to pathological protein aggregates.

Muna will receive €33.5m ($35.2m) in an upfront payment from GSK, which also includes potential milestone payments of €140m ($147.1m) per target, plus tiered royalties on the net sales of any resulting products.

By examining postmortem human brain samples, the companies will identify potential new drug targets, which will be validated using Muna’s humanised cell and animal models suite with additional insights provided by patient tissue and biofluid samples.

Muna will be responsible for leading the target identification and validation, while GSK will take the reins on drug development, overseeing preclinical activities, clinical development, manufacturing and commercialisation.

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Muna Therapeutics CEO Rita Balice-Gordon stated: “Our agreement marks a pivotal moment in Muna’s evolution and in the broader Alzheimer’s research landscape.

“By combining GSK’s commitment to breakthrough science with our MiND-MAP platform’s ability to deliver novel insights into brain resilience, we aim to transform the landscape of drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases and bring new hope to millions of patients worldwide.”

The MiND-MAP platform offers a dataset of breadth and resolution, which is expected to drive the discovery and development of new therapies for Alzheimer’s. This dataset will be expanded and enhanced as part of the alliance.

GSK respiratory/immunology research and development global head and SVP Kaivan Khavandi stated: “By applying spatial multi-omics to unique patient phenotypes, Muna’s MiND-MAP platform can determine the genetic and cellular basis of progression and resilience in neurodegenerative diseases.”

In November 2024, the European Commission approved GSK’s single-vial, fully liquid Menveo vaccine (MenACWY).

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