(ACIU) AC Immune S.A. Business Model Canvas Research

Life Molecular Imaging SA is a key partner for AC Immune S.A.'s imaging-tracer business, especially as the Tau PET tracer advances in Phase II. The tie-up links biomarker discovery with clinical diagnostics, which matters because PET imaging can help validate disease signal in patients and support faster go/no-go calls.

• Phase II Tau PET tracer support
• Connects biomarkers to diagnostics
• Strengthens imaging-tracer pipeline

Eli Lilly and Company extends AC Immune S.A.’s neuroscience reach through joint R&D, while WuXi Biologics adds biologics development and GMP manufacturing support. Together, these ties help AC Immune S.A. scale technical execution and move its pipeline with fewer handoff gaps.

• Broader neuroscience R&D access
• Biologics development support
• Manufacturing scale and speed
• Stronger pipeline execution

AC Immune S.A. runs biomarker and imaging work in parallel with therapeutics, using its Tau PET tracer and early diagnostic agents to spot disease earlier and sort patients by tau burden. In 2025, this helps sharpen trial design, improve precision targeting, and reduce noise in Alzheimer’s studies.

• Tau PET supports patient stratification
• Biomarkers improve trial readouts
• Diagnostics and drugs move together

Partnered research and out-licensing are core to AC Immune S.A.’s model: it keeps advancing programs with large pharma and niche biotech partners, which helps spread R&D risk and extend capacity without building every function in-house. This keeps the pipeline moving while partners fund parts of development, milestones, and downstream work.

• Uses pharma and biotech partners
• Shares R&D cost and risk
• Extends development capacity
• Supports milestone and licensing income

Patent protection and proprietary know-how are AC Immune S.A.’s main moat: the company has built a pipeline with 6 clinical-stage candidates and uses its "SupraAntigen" and "Morphomer" platforms to protect platform output and partner work. That IP strengthens pricing power in licensing talks and makes alliance terms harder to copy.

• Protects platform-generated assets
• Supports partner collaboration rights
• Improves licensing leverage

AC Immune S.A. relies on scientific, clinical, and regulatory teams to turn discovery into human data. In FY2025, its Lausanne base supports biomarker work, clinical operations, and regulatory filing across a pipeline built on active programs in Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

These resources matter because AC Immune S.A. must move assets from lab readouts to trials, then to agency review, with one site coordinating the work from Switzerland.

• Clinical operations move studies into patients.
• Biomarkers link target activity to human data.
• Regulatory teams handle filings and agency contact.
• Lausanne anchors the operating base.

AC Immune S.A.'s biomarker-linked precision development uses Tau PET tracer and early diagnostic tools to pick the right patients and track response in real time. In complex CNS programs, this can make trials cleaner and faster by reducing noise, improving dose selection, and sharpening go-or-no-go calls.

• Better patient selection
• More informative trials
• Stronger CNS decision-making

AC Immune S.A. offers a partner-ready neuroscience pipeline built for pharma collaboration, with multiple programs already in clinical development and others backed by strong preclinical proof-of-concept. That mix lets partners license or co-develop differentiated CNS assets without starting from zero, which is key in a market where late-stage neuroscience assets are scarce.

• Clinical-stage plus preclinical depth

• Designed for partnering from day one

• Differentiated CNS assets for pharma

AC Immune S.A. keeps scientific and medical stakeholder ties active through investigator meetings, neurologist outreach, and peer-reviewed trial results, which helps validate its Alzheimer’s platform. That matters in a field affecting over 55 million people worldwide, where external credibility can speed trial adoption and partner trust.

• Trial data drives scientific trust
• Publications support external credibility
• Alzheimer’s focus raises the stakes

As a clinical-stage biotech, AC Immune S.A. relies on regular disclosure, trial milestones, and data reads to keep investors and partners confident. Clear updates matter even more because cash generation is still partnership-led, so each new clinical result helps support funding talks and collaboration value.

• Regular trial updates build trust.
• Milestones support partnership value.
• Transparency helps funding access.

AC Immune S.A. uses corporate presentations, earnings materials, and investor updates to keep capital providers aligned on trial milestones, risks, and cash needs. For a clinical-stage biotech, where funding can depend on a few key readouts, this channel is mission-critical, especially as investors track 2025-2026 progress and runway discipline.

• Shares trial milestones and risk updates
• Supports funding access for R&D
• Builds trust with capital providers

AC Immune S.A. depends on diagnostic and imaging networks built around radiology, neurology, and research centers because Tau PET tracers and biomarker programs need specialized scan sites and longitudinal follow-up. That matters at scale: WHO says more than 55 million people live with dementia, so these networks are key for recruitment, validation, and future use.

• Specialized PET and biomarker sites
• Needed for Tau tracer and diagnostics
• Supports large dementia-focused trials

Neurologists and memory clinics are key customers for AC Immune S.A. because they diagnose Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, enroll patients in trials, and can later prescribe disease-modifying therapies. In the U.S., about 7.2 million people age 65+ live with Alzheimer’s disease, so this clinical channel shapes both test uptake and future drug use.

Memory clinics also drive adoption of biomarkers and imaging tools, since they guide referral decisions and patient selection for studies.

• Prescribe future therapies
• Refer patients into studies
• Adopt diagnostic tools

Academic hospitals and imaging centers are core AC Immune S.A. partners for clinical development and biomarker validation. They run PET tracer studies and trial protocols, helping generate the clinical evidence and real-world expertise needed across the company’s neurodegeneration pipeline.

• PET tracers for trial use
• Biomarker validation sites
• Clinical evidence generation
• Real-world protocol expertise

AC Immune S.A. keeps most of its cost base in people: scientific, clinical, regulatory, and business development staff are core operating costs, and talent is expensive in biotech. Its Lausanne headquarters also adds facility and administration costs, so headcount and site overhead together drive much of the burn.

• People costs are the main operating expense.
• Lausanne HQ adds rent and admin overhead.
• Biotech talent drives fixed-cost pressure.

AC Immune S.A. spends heavily on patents, filings, and regulatory compliance because protecting its Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s assets is core to value creation. The company also carries ongoing partner-management and data-sharing costs tied to collaborations, which help secure deal execution and keep licensed programs enforceable.

• Patent and filing spend protects key IP
• Compliance keeps programs deal-ready
• Collaboration costs support partner execution

These costs are fixed-ish and rise with pipeline breadth, but they defend long-term asset control and licensing income potential.

If partnered assets reach market, AC Immune S.A. can earn royalties on future sales, capturing upside without funding a full launch team. That matters in biotech, where one successful Alzheimer’s asset can generate long-tail value for 5-10 years after approval.

• Upside without full sales buildout
• Scales with partner commercialization
• Best for long-duration biotech value

Option and sublicense income gives AC Immune S.A. cash from partner deals without giving up full pipeline control. These fees fit multi-partner neuroscience licensing, where one agreement can add option exercise payments and later sublicense income as programs move forward.

• Monetizes early partner access
• Supports flexible pipeline deals
• Adds upside from downstream sublicensing