Biopharmaceutical group Sosei will work together with AbbVie on a drug discovery project to discover, develop and commercialise small molecules that target neurological diseases.
The agreement will see the companies combining their expertise and capabilities in neuroscience to discover and develop small molecules that modulate G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) targets that are associated with neurological diseases.
Sosei will put forward its Heptares’ StaR technology and structure-based drug design (SBDD) platform for use throughout the project, whilst AbbVie’s will offer its expertise in neuroscience and disease.
The agreement follows an ongoing collaboration between Sosei Heptares and AbbVie, building on the first multi-target discovery agreement signed between the companies in June 2020, which is focused on the inflammatory and autoimmune disease areas.
The new agreement will see Sosei Heptares conduct and fund R&D activities through the completion of Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies. Abbvie has the option to license three programmes at this stage and if so, will be responsible for clinical, regulatory and commercial development.
Official comments
Matt Barnes, Head of UK Research & Development, Sosei Heptares said: “We are delighted to enter this new multi-target discovery collaboration with AbbVie in the neuroscience area, a therapeutic area in which we share deep and complementary experience and expertise. We have established a highly productive working relationship with our counterparts at AbbVie over the past two years through our initial collaboration and are very pleased with how this is progressing. We believe this strong foundation will enable us to get off to a quick start as we tackle the novel and challenging neurology targets under this new agreement.”
