File photo: UC Irvine Medical Center in 2019. Photo: Sony 1992 / Wikimedia Commons / CC0 1.0. Cropped.
Lineage Cell Therapeutics has acquired NeuroAirmid Therapeutics and rights to an experimental Huntington's disease treatment now being tested at the University of California, Irvine.
The company said Nov. 12 that it paid about $4.7 million to NeuroAirmid investors at closing, roughly half in cash and half in Lineage stock. Further payments could follow as the program advances.
The treatment, which Lineage calls HUNT1, uses laboratory-grown neural stem cells. Researchers are testing whether transplanting those cells into the brain can safely help people with Huntington's, an inherited disease that gradually damages movement, thinking and behavior.
Six patients have received the experimental treatment in the ongoing REGEN4HD study, according to Lineage. That is an early research milestone, not proof that the treatment works.
A small trial focused first on safety
The Phase 1b/2a study at UCI Health plans to enroll up to 21 patients. It will test different doses and track treatment-related adverse events. Researchers will also look for changes in movement, thinking and other measures over time.
The cells are intended to support damaged brain networks. Whether that approach can safely improve symptoms or slow Huntington's disease still has to be established in people.
Lineage said it plans to move the HUNT1 production process onto its own cell-manufacturing platform. That work would prepare the program for larger studies if development proceeds.
More payments depend on what happens next
NeuroAirmid investors are eligible for up to $5 million on the first anniversary of closing and up to $48 million in development, regulatory and clinical milestone payments. A possible future licensing deal could trigger another payment in the low seven figures or more.
Lineage also expects to take on about $3.1 million in certain clinical development costs through February 2030, along with future manufacturing work and development after the current study.
The program has received support from California's stem-cell research agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Lineage said that included $16 million in earlier translational research funding and a clinical award of up to $12 million to UCI for the ongoing study. Those grants support the research; they are separate from the acquisition payments to NeuroAirmid investors.
JBizNews Desk | Carlsbad, California
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