Janssen Strikes Two Licensing Deals

Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen unit and the Swiss biotech firm AC Immune are joining to develop anti-tau vaccines for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and potentially other diseases involving the misfolding and aggregation of tau protein. As part of the agreement, Janssen will further develop AC Immune’s ACI-35 vaccine, currently in Phase I trials for Alzheimer’s patients. The deal could be worth up to $509 million for AC Immune. Separately, Janssen has inked a deal to develop Vedanta Biosciences’ lead microbiome drug candidate, VE202, which in preclinical studies has shown efficacy against autoimmune diseases. Vedanta could receive a total of $241 million.