-- DJS Antibodies' DJS-002 is a potential first-in-class
antibody directed to LPAR1, currently in investigational
preclinical studies for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary
Fibrosis and other fibrotic diseases
-- The company's proprietary HEPTAD platform will extend
AbbVie's current discovery research capabilities by generating
potential novel antibodies against difficult-to-drug protein
targets in immunology and beyond
NORTH
CHICAGO, Ill., Oct. 20,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) today
announced the acquisition of DJS Antibodies Ltd ("DJS"), a
privately-held UK-based biotechnology company dedicated to
discovering and developing antibody medicines that target
difficult-to-drug disease-causing proteins, such as G
protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). DJS's lead program is DJS-002, a
potential first-in-class lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptor
1 (LPAR1) antagonist antibody currently in investigational
preclinical studies for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary
Fibrosis (IPF) and other fibrotic diseases. IPF is an aggressive,
high mortality disease caused by fibrotic scarring in the lungs and
remains an area of high unmet medical need.
"We are excited to bring the innovative science behind DJS-002
and the talented team at DJS to AbbVie," said Jonathon Sedgwick, Ph.D., vice president and
global head of discovery research, AbbVie. "This acquisition will
deliver new capabilities to enhance our current antibody research
activities, an opportunity to strengthen our immunology portfolio,
and provide a strong foothold for expanded research efforts in the
dynamic bioscience hub in Oxford,
UK."
DJS's proprietary HEPTAD platform is a novel approach to
antibody discovery with specific capabilities targeting
transmembrane protein targets. A key benefit of this acquisition is
for AbbVie, through DJS, to access the HEPTAD platform as a
complement to its current robust capabilities in biotherapeutics
research. DJS will leverage AbbVie's extensive drug discovery
expertise to continue generating antibody therapeutics and novel
biology insights against targets like GPCRs, which have previously
been intractable to biologics approaches.
"DJS was built on the principles of scientific curiosity and an
aspiration to discover clinically meaningful innovative medicines.
We've been privileged to grow the company within the world-class
scientific and entrepreneurial community of Oxford, from an initial concept through to a
successful biotech comprising an extremely talented team," said
David Llewellyn and Joe Illingworth, co-founders of DJS. "The whole
team is incredibly excited to take the next step in this journey
with AbbVie as we work together to accelerate the translation of
our lead program into the clinic and develop an exciting research
center here in the UK."
Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will pay DJS
shareholders approximately $255
million in cash at closing for the acquisition of DJS. DJS
shareholders remain eligible for potential additional payments upon
the achievement of certain development milestones related to the
success of the DJS-002 program. AbbVie anticipates retaining all
current DJS employees and its facility in Oxford.
DJS is backed by founding investors Oxford Science Enterprises and
Johnson & Johnson Innovation Ltd., along with LifeArc,
Sedgwick Yard and Amgen
Ventures.
DJS and its shareholders were advised by Centerview (Financial
Advisor). Goodwin Procter LLP (Legal) advised DJS and its
shareholders on the transaction, and Cooley LLP (Legal) advised DJS
on other corporate matters including providing additional support
on the transaction.
About AbbVie
AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines
that solve serious health issues today and address the medical
challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on
people's lives across several key therapeutic areas: immunology,
oncology, neuroscience, eye care, virology and gastroenterology, in
addition to products and services across its Allergan Aesthetics
portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at
www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
About DJS Antibodies
Based in Oxford, UK, DJS
Antibodies is a biotechnology company dedicated to creating the
next generation of antibody therapeutics. DJS Antibodies utilizes
their proprietary HEPTAD platform to enable antibody discovery to
GPCRs and other intractable targets. Using HEPTAD, the company has
generated a unique pipeline including DJS-002, a novel antibody
targeting LPAR1 for the treatment of chronic fibrotic diseases.
www.djsantibodies.com
Forward-Looking
Statements
Some statements in this news release are, or may be
considered, forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe,"
"expect," "anticipate," "project" and similar expressions, among
others, generally identify forward-looking statements. AbbVie
cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks
and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ
materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.
Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
failure to realize the expected benefits from AbbVie's acquisition
of Allergan plc ("Allergan"), failure to promptly and effectively
integrate Allergan's businesses, competition from other products,
challenges to intellectual property, difficulties inherent in the
research and development process, adverse litigation or government
action, changes to laws and regulations applicable to our industry
and the impact of public health outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics,
such as COVID-19. Additional information about the economic,
competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may
affect AbbVie's operations is set forth in Item 1A, "Risk Factors,"
of AbbVie's 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has been filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as updated by its
subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. AbbVie undertakes no
obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking
statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except
as required by law.
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/abbvie-acquires-djs-antibodies-further-strengthening-immunology-pipeline-301654241.html
SOURCE AbbVie