Ask Acumen

Erika Cline

Manager, Bioanalytical Methods

How long have you been in Alzheimer’s research and when did you start with Acumen?

I’ve been in Alzheimer’s research since 2014 when I started working as a post-doctoral fellow in the lab of Bill Klein, one of Acumen’s scientific co-founders. Therefore, I was already working with Acumen since 2014, and I started full-time with the company in March of 2021.

What initially drew you to Acumen and our company’s mission?

I worked with amyloid beta oligomers and ACU193 for my research in Dr. Klein’s lab. I learned to support the amyloid beta oligomer hypothesis through that work and so this job is perfectly tailored for me. It is pretty rare in academia to focus on such a specific area and subsequently find a non-academic job working on exactly what you were researching. What’s interesting is that I have gotten to see ACU193 progress; from the founders and those who were working on it in the lab setting, then to the clinic, and now being a part of the team to get it through the clinic to real data. And I still get to continue research that I started years ago and see those projects through.

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Could you share a significant accomplishment or project you’ve been involved in that made a difference in advancing Acumen’s vision?

I led the development of the target engagement assay for ACU193. This assay provided supporting evidence that ACU193 was engaging oligomers in the brain as part of the secondary outcome measures for the INTERCEPT-AD Phase 1 study.

The assay allowed us to measure target engagement, we saw dose dependent target engagement, and even target engagement reaching a plateau at our highest doses. We made some unexpected discoveries during the assay development that will aid in the development of other assays and further additional research we are conducting.  It was also one of the primary pieces of data in the dosing decision for the Phase 2/3 study development.

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What excites you most about the work you do at Acumen?

Working on something that directly affects people’s lives and being able to still work in the forefront of the field, develop new assays and learn new things about abeta oligomers and ACU193 mechanism of action.

Which of Acumen’s four values (People, Integrity, Innovation, and Perseverance) resonates most with your work and role?

Innovation and Perseverance

Our approach to target engagement was innovative, nobody has tried to measure a drug oligomer complex in CSF before, people typically rely on PET imaging of plaques for this type of measurement.

Perseverance because it took us two years to develop the assay.  Due to the nature of what we were trying to measure, we did not have any positive controls and we didn’t know until we actually did the assay if it was going to work. I was continuously working on multiple assay formats as back up plans in case it didn’t work. The development and success of the target engagement assay was critical to the success and outcome of ACU193 in clinic and we wouldn’t have completed it without the great scientists in the BioA team, B2S, and MSD as well as everyone who came together at Acumen to help meet our topline timeline.

From your perspective, what sets our company apart in the field of Alzheimer’s research?

The selectivity of our antibody for soluble amyloid beta oligomers. While other companies in AD research in anti-amyloid antibodies may bind oligomers, our antibody is the only one with significant selectivity for oligomers.

Outside of work, what are some of your hobbies or interests that you enjoy in your free time?

Gardening, hiking, biking, listening to music, and running around with my son.

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How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance while being deeply committed to your work and the mission of the company?

I think when you work from home you inherently have a work-life balance, prioritizing my son also helps me stay balanced. I try to stop work at a specific time and don’t work on the weekends unless critical, giving myself boundaries.

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