AC Immune Surges Higher On Alzheimer's Trial Update

Shares of Swiss biopharma AC Immune SA ACIU were advancing strongly Thursday following a clinical trial update from the company.

What Happened: AC Immune announced positive interim tolerability and immunogenicity results from the initial dosing group in a Phase 1b/2a study of its Alzheimer's disease vaccine candidate ACI-35.030.

The company said it has initiated the second-highest dosing group in the study.

ACI-35.030, an anti-pTau vaccine, is the second investigational vaccine generated from AC Immune's SupraAntigen platform. It's being developed in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson's JNJ Janssen unit.

Anti-pTau antibodies generated by ACI-35.030 have the potential to reduce the spread and seeding of Tau pathology throughout the brain, AC Immune said.

"Pathological pTau occurs early in the disease process, years before accumulation of Tau deposits. Therefore, our pTau-targeting approach holds significant promise for the treatment of AD at different disease stages," said AC Immune CEO Andrea Pfeifer. 

What's Next: AC Immune's proprietary anti-amyloid beta vaccine ACI-24 is in Phase 1b/Phase 2 clinical development in two separate indications.

The company said it's also evaluating two monoclonal antibodies: semorinemab, an anti-Tau antibody in Phase 2 development, and crenezumab, an anti-Abeta antibody in Phase 2 development, in partnership with Roche Holdings AG Basel ADR Common Stock RHHBY.

At last check, AC Immune shares were advancing 65.28% to $11.88. 

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