Alder Hits $15 Million BMS Milestone

Alder Biopharmaceuticals will receive a $15 million milestone payment from Bristol-Myers Squibb for the initiation of a Phase IIb clinical trial in rheumatoid arthritis for ALD518/BMS-945429, an investigational antibody therapeutic that blocks interleukin-6 (IL-6).

The milestone payment is part of the Alder/BMS collaboration that was formed in 2009 for the development of ALD518/BMS-945429. Alder granted to BMS worldwide exclusive rights to develop and commercialize ALD518/BMS-945429 for all potential clinical uses, with the exception of cancer treatment and cancer supportive care, which are rights retained by Alder.

This Phase IIb randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of multiple doses of a subcutaneous formulation of ALD518/BMS-945429.

“We are pleased that BMS continues to advance ALD-518/BMS-945429 in clinical development and look forward to seeing the results of this larger clinical experience in rheumatoid arthritis,” said Randall Schatzman, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Alder Biopharmaceuticals. “We also look forward to progressing our internal work with the antibody as a potential treatment in cancer and cancer supportive care.”