Catalyst Biosciences & Mosaic Biosciences Enter Strategic Development Collaboration

Catalyst Biosciences, Inc. and privately held Mosaic Biosciences, Inc. recently announced they have entered into a strategic collaboration to develop Catalyst’s anti-C3 protease assets for dry age-related macular degeneration (dAMD) and other serious inflammatory retinal disorders. Catalyst’s current anti-C3 protease compounds are selective for C3 and have been shown to completely inhibit C3 in preclinical studies with good tolerability after intraocular administration.

Under terms of the agreement, Catalyst and Mosaic will collaborate to improve the pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of Catalyst’s anti-C3 proteases, with a goal of delivering product candidates that have a target profile of a once quarterly intravitreal (IVT) dosing in humans and better potency compared with competitors. Catalyst and Mosaic will co-fund the research; Catalyst will retain global commercial rights for all collaboration products and Mosaic will receive product sublicense fees and/or milestone payments and royalties.

“Inhibiting C3 in the complement pathway has recently been validated for the treatment of Geographic Atrophy (GA), a late-stage form of dAMD. However, the current frequency of IVT drugs in development is not ideal for patients with chronic ocular diseases,” said Nassim Usman, PhD, President and CEO of Catalyst Biosciences. “Mosaic will apply its ophthalmology expertise, research team, proprietary protein engineering and sustained release technology to our anti-C3 protease lead molecule to develop a clinical candidate with the desired target profile. This collaboration agreement allows Catalyst to advance its anti-complement assets and explore potential licensing opportunities while maintaining its strategic focus on our clinical hemophilia programs.”

Eric Furfine, PhD, who led preclinical development for Regeneron’s Eylea and was Chief Scientific Officer for Eleven Biotherapeutics’ ocular protein programs, and is now leading Mosaic’s ophthalmology efforts, commented “We believe that there is a clear mechanistic advantage to Catalyst’s enzymatic approach to inhibiting C3 activity compared with an antibody or peptide approach. Our modeling and experience predict that by modifying Catalyst’s lead compounds, we can develop best-in-class anti-C3 products with at least quarterly IVT dosing.”

The human complement system is a complex series of biological processes and cascades that are regulated naturally by proteases. Activation of the complement system occurs in ocular diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), producing substantial inflammatory tissue damage. Catalyst’s anti-complement program is directed at complement factor 3 (C3), a pharmaceutical target at the nexus of the complement system and common to all three pathways of activation. Recent clinical results with monthly IVT dosing regimens have validated C3 as a target for Geographic Atrophy, which is the late stage of dry AMD. Catalyst’s anti-C3 protease leads have been shown to completely inhibit C3 in the vitreous after IVT administration in non-human primates.

Catalyst is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel medicines to address hematology indications. Catalyst is focused on the field of hemostasis, including the subcutaneous prophylaxis of hemophilia and facilitating surgery in individuals with hemophilia. For more information, visit www.catalystbiosciences.com.

Mosaic Biosciences is private biotechnology company that is advancing a highly versatile and fundamentally new class of biomaterials based on engineered proteins and synthetic polymers. Mosaic’s technology platform provides the leading biomaterial for cell- and protein-therapeutic delivery, regenerative medicine, and tissue sealants. For more information, visit www.mosaicbio.com.