Preclinical development of a high affinity α-synuclein antibody, MEDI1341, that can enter the brain, sequester extracellular α-synuclein and attenuate α-synuclein spreading in vivo

There are no approved drug therapies that can prevent or slow the progression of Parkinson's disease (PD). Accumulation and aggregation of alpha-synuclein protein is observed throughout the nervous system in PD. alpha-Synuclein is a core component of Lewy bodies and neurites that neuropathologically define PD, suggesting that alpha-synuclein may be a key causative agent in PD. Recent experimental data suggest that PD progression may arise due to spreading of pathological forms of extracellular alpha-synuclein throughout the brain via a cellular release, uptake and seeding mechanism. We have developed a high affinity alpha-synuclein antibody, MEDI1341, that can enter the brain, sequester extracellular alpha-synuclein and attenuate alpha-synuclein spreading in vivo. MEDI1341 binds both monomeric and aggregated forms of alpha-synuclein. In vitro, MEDI1341 blocks cell-to-cell transmission of pathologically relevant alpha-synuclein preformed fibrils (pffs). After intravenous injection into rats and cynomolgus monkeys, MEDI1341 rapidly enters the central nervous system and lowers free extracellular alpha-synuclein levels in the interstitial fluid (ISF) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) compartments. Using a novel lentiviral-based in vivo mouse model of alpha-synuclein spreading in the brain, we show that treatment with MEDI1341 significantly reduces alpha-synuclein accumulation and propagation along axons. In this same model, we demonstrate that an effector-null version of the antibody was equally as effective as one with effector function. MEDI1341 is now in Phase 1 human clinical trial testing as a novel treatment for alpha-synucleinopathies including PD with the aim to slow or halt disease progression.