Teva and Biolojic Design Initiate IND-enabling Studies of BD9, a Multibody Designed to Explore the Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis and Asthma
- Advancement to IND-enabling studies represents a significant milestone in drug development
- BD9's dual-targeting mechanism could potentially offer better efficacy than existing treatments
- Worldwide development rights secured by Teva for BD9
- Therapy addresses large markets (atopic dermatitis and asthma) with unmet medical needs
- Early-stage development with significant clinical trials still ahead
- Milestone payment obligations to Biolojic could impact profitability
- No guarantee of successful transition from pre-clinical to clinical trials
Insights
Teva advances novel dual-target antibody BD9 to IND-enabling studies, strengthening its immunology pipeline with potential advantages over single-target treatments.
Teva has reached a significant milestone with BD9, initiating IND-enabling studies for this innovative dual-targeting antibody therapy. BD9 represents a potentially superior approach to treating TH2-driven inflammatory conditions by simultaneously inhibiting two critical disease drivers - TSLP and IL-13.
What makes this development scientifically noteworthy is the multibody platform technology from Biolojic Design, which enables a single antibody to engage multiple targets with high specificity. Traditional therapies typically block only one inflammatory pathway, often leading to suboptimal efficacy as alternative pathways remain active. By targeting both TSLP (an upstream alarm signal that initiates allergic inflammation) and IL-13 (a downstream effector cytokine), BD9 could potentially provide more comprehensive pathway inhibition.
This milestone positions Teva to potentially enter clinical trials within 12-18 months, assuming favorable toxicology and safety data. For context, the addressable market is substantial - atopic dermatitis affects approximately 16.5 million adults in the US alone, while asthma impacts over 25 million Americans. Current biologics for these conditions (like dupilumab) generate billions in annual revenue, highlighting the commercial opportunity.
The progression of BD9 demonstrates Teva's strategic pivot toward innovative biologics beyond their traditional generics business. While this program remains years from potential commercialization, it represents a valuable pipeline asset with milestone-based economics for both companies, indicating thoughtful risk management in the development partnership.
- BD9 is a multibody that targets IL-13 and TSLP, and has potential to treat TH-2-driven inflammatory diseases
- BD9 designed using Biolojic’s Multibody Platform, which generates Antibodies capable of addressing multiple disease targets
- Collaboration builds on Teva’s Pivot to Growth strategy to step up innovation in Teva’s innovative pipeline
REHOVOT, Israel and WASHINGTON and TEL AVIV, Israel, May 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., (NYSE and TASE:TEVA) and Biolojic Design Ltd. (“Biolojic”), a biotechnology company using computational biology and artificial intelligence to design next generation, multifunctional antibodies known as multibodies, announced today that Teva initiated IND-enabling studies with BD9, a dual-specific multibody targeting both TSLP (Thymic stromal lymphopoietin) and IL-13. Teva has an exclusive license to develop BD9 for the treatment of TH2-driven inflammatory diseases such as atopic dermatitis and asthma.
Teva’s development of BD9 demonstrates the company’s commitment to applying cutting-edge science to address unmet medical needs. By simultaneously blocking two key drivers of TH2-driven inflammation, BD9 has the potential to improve outcomes for patients with conditions such as atopic dermatitis and asthma, where current treatments fall short. The initiation of IND-enabling studies marks a critical milestone in translating this scientific innovation into a potential therapeutic option, paving the way for clinical trials and ultimately bringing hope to underserved patient populations. This progress exemplifies Teva’s focus on advancing transformative therapies that expand access and impact through innovation.
“We’re excited to have successfully achieved another milestone in our partnership with Teva,” said Yanay Ofran, PhD, CEO and founder of Biolojic Design. “Biolojic’s next generation antibody platform has now produced four antibodies that are in, or nearing, the clinic. From the clinical data we have recently seen, it is already clear that our precision antibodies have distinct advantages over traditional antibodies, extracting better efficacy and safety from complex biological targets.”
Eric Hughes, MD, PhD, Executive Vice President, Global R&D and Chief Medical Officer at Teva said, “With the initiation of IND-enabling studies we take a vital step toward delivering innovative treatments to patients who need them most. This pre-clinical progress underscores Teva’s commitment to accelerating innovation and to improving health outcomes and access to underserved patient populations.”
Under the terms of their agreement, Teva is developing BD9 worldwide. In exchange, Biolojic is eligible to receive milestone payments based on the achievement of certain pre-clinical, clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones, including the initiation of IND-enabling studies.
About Biolojic Design
Biolojic Design is pioneering the use of precision antibodies, including multibodies, a next generation antibody technology in which each arm of a conventional IgG (immunoglobulin G) antibody can bind to multiple targets, enabling a multibody to address complex disease biology. Biolojic designs its multibodies using computational biology and AI, and its platform generated the first AI-designed antibody to enter the clinic, which is now in phase 2 clinical trials. The company’s pipeline focuses on autoimmune diseases and oncology, unlocking validated pathways that address large unmet needs. It is progressing its own pipeline, and has partnerships with several leading biopharmaceutical companies to enhance its ability to bring important new medicines to patients. For more information about Biolojic Design and its science and pipeline, please visit https://biolojic.com/ or follow us on LinkedIn.
About Teva
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) is a different kind of global biopharmaceutical leader, one that operates across the full spectrum of innovation to reliably deliver medicines to patients worldwide. For over 120 years, Teva’s commitment to bettering health has never wavered. Today, the company’s global network of capabilities enables its 37,000 employees across 57 markets to advance health by developing medicines for the future while championing the production of generics and biologics. We are dedicated to addressing patients’ needs, now and in the future. Moving forward together with science that treats, inspired by the people we serve. To learn more about how Teva is all in for better health, visit www.tevapharm.com.
Teva Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are based on management’s current beliefs and expectations and are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that could cause our future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from that expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “target,” “may,” “project,” “guidance,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe” and other words and terms of similar meaning and expression in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Important factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include risks relating to: our partnership with Biolojic; our ability to successfully develop BD9, a Dual-Specific Antibody Designed to Explore the Treatment of TH2-driven inflammatory diseases; our ability to successfully compete in the marketplace, including our ability to develop and commercialize additional pharmaceutical products; our ability to successfully execute our Pivot to Growth strategy, including to expand our innovative and biosimilar medicines pipeline and profitably commercialize the innovative medicines and biosimilar portfolio, whether organically or through business development, to sustain and focus our portfolio of generic medicines; and to execute on our organizational transformation and to achieve expected cost savings and other factors discussed in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2025 and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, including in the section captioned “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements.” Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or other information contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
| Teva Media Inquiries | TevaCommunicationsNorthAmerica@tevapharm.com |
| Teva Investor Relations Inquiries | TevaIR@Tevapharm.com |
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