AbbVie’s portfolio and pipeline are thin when it comes to brain medicines, particularly in neurodegenerative diseases. The pharma giant is taking steps to make up for this shortfall with a deal: get Derivatives of UCB are already in the clinic, and the drug takes a new approach to treating brain disorders and has potential applications including Alzheimer’s disease.
North Chicago, Illinois-based AbbVie announced Tuesday that it paid $130 million upfront to acquire Syndesi Therapeutics. The milestone payment could add another $870 million to the biotech’s shareholders.
The backbone of AbbVie’s neuroscience portfolio may be Botox. Acquired by AbbVie in 2020, the product is approved for a range of therapeutic indications, including the treatment of muscle spasms caused by stroke or other injuries, and the prevention of migraine headaches.therapeutic botulinum toxin $2.45 billion Sales in 2021, making it the company’s top neurological product.
AbbVie’s neuroscience drug prospects come from its partnership with Calico Life Sciences, a company founded by Google parent Alphabet. The AbbVie/Calico consortium began in 2014 and has advanced three programs into clinical testing in neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.last year, the league expanded The second continues the clinical development of the collaborative project. AbbVie’s acquisition of Syndesi provides the drug company with additional opportunities in neurodegenerative diseases.
Based in Belgium, Syndesi aims to treat brain disorders by reducing symptoms of cognitive impairment. The company’s drugs are small molecules that modulate synaptic transmission, the communication that occurs between neurons in the brain. The biotech company notes that disruptions in synaptic connections are found in Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Syndesi, whose name is derived from the Greek word for “connect,” develops drugs that target synaptic vesicle protein 2A (SV2A), a protein that plays a key role in regulating neurotransmission. UCB has developed and commercialized two products targeting this goal, the epilepsy drugs Keppra and Briviact.
The lead Syndesi drug candidate, SDI-118, came from UCB’s research into a molecule that modulates SV2A, but aimed at improving cognition rather than preventing seizures. In 2017, the Belgian pharmaceutical company formed a partnership with an investment group including Novo Holdings, Fountain Healthcare Partners and Johnson & Johnson Innovation—JJDC. The investment group founded Syndesi in 2017; the startup received an SDI-118 license from UCB in 2018.
Syndesi’s molecule is currently in early clinical development as a way to target nerve endings to increase synaptic efficiency. Clinical trial records show that the drug is currently undergoing two Phase 1b trials, one enrolling older patients with cognitive decline and the other testing the drug candidate in adults in remission from depression. Tom Hudson, AbbVie’s senior vice president of research and development and chief scientific officer, said his company plans to evaluate the Syndesi molecule in a range of brain diseases.
“There is a significant unmet need for new therapies that help improve cognitive function in patients with difficult-to-treat neurological disorders,” Hudson said in a prepared statement. “By AbbVie ) with the acquisition of Syndesi, our goal is to advance the research of a novel, first-in-class asset for the potential treatment of cognitive impairment associated with neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.”
Image: koto_feja, Getty Images
