If approved, Aiolos’ drug AOI-001 will only have to be administered once every six months. Credit: Gorodenkoff via www.shutterstock.com

Aiolos bio has announced its launch as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a focus on respiratory and inflammatory diseases. The company will lead with the development of AIO-001, a novel Phase II TSLP antibody to treat asthma. 

The $245m Series A round was co-led by Atlas Venture, Bain Capital Life Sciences, Forbion, and Sofinnova Investments and RA Capital Management.  

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The monoclonal antibody AOI-001 blocks TSLP, a cytokine that plays an important role in driving inflammation in conditions like asthma. The only approved anti-TSLP drug is Amgen and AstraZeneca’s Tezspire (tezepelumab), which gained FDA approval in December 2021 to treat severe asthma. Tezspire generated $135m in sales in H1 2023, according to Astrazeneca’s H1 and Q2 2023 results announcement. 

In contrast to Tezspire, which has to be injected once a month, AOI-001 can be dosed twice yearly, potentially giving Aiolos an advantage. 

Accompanying the launch announcement was news that co-founder Khurem Farooq has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, having previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Gyroscope Therapeutics and Senior Vice President of Genentech, a member of the Roche group. 

Aiolos acquired rights for the global development and commercialisation of AIO-001 from Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals in August, with Jiangsu retaining the rights in China. Aiolos, called One Bio at the time, paid Jiangsu $21.5m in an upfront payment for the drug candidate, but Jiangsu could be entitled to over $1bn if the drug gains approval in the US, Japan and selected European countries.  

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Farooq spoke of plans for Aiolos: “From operating large-scale clinical trials in asthma, to overseeing more than 30 FDA approvals, to leading successful product launches in immune conditions like asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and IPF.”