NORTH CHICAGO, Ill.,
July 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie
(NYSE: ABBV) announced today that it has acquired Seattle-based Mavupharma, a privately held
biopharmaceutical company focused on novel approaches to target the
STING (STimulator of INterferon Genes) pathway for the treatment of
cancer.
STING pathway signaling plays an important role in the
generation of an immune response directed at tumors, and enhancing
STING signaling has shown promise in a variety of tumor models.
STING pathway stimulation has the potential to increase the
susceptibility of tumors and broaden treatment options for
patients.
"AbbVie's vision in oncology is to advance breakthrough areas of
science leading to a strong pipeline of innovative cancer
therapies," said Steve Davidsen,
Ph.D., vice president of oncology discovery, AbbVie. "Mavupharma's
platform has the potential to further our immuno-oncology portfolio
and assist in the development of transformative medicines for
patients."
Mavupharma's lead clinical candidate is MAVU-104, a
first-in-class, orally active, small molecule inhibitor of ENPP1,
an enzyme involved in the regulation of the STING pathway.
Inhibiting ENPP1 activity with MAVU-104 allows for highly
controlled enhancement of STING signaling in tumors without the
need for injections.
"AbbVie has built a leadership position in oncology and their
world-class capabilities will enable the accelerated development of
our pipeline of STING modulators," said Michael Gallatin, Ph.D., former president and a
co-founder of Mavupharma.
"We made tremendous strides in developing our novel STING
modulators and advancing MAVU-104 towards the clinic. We are
confident in AbbVie's ability to continue to advance this exciting
science for patients," added former chief scientific officer and
co-founder Gregory Dietsch,
Ph.D.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Mavupharma
Mavupharma is a drug discovery company focused on novel
approaches to selectively targeting the STING pathway, leveraging
the innate immune system to treat cancer. Mavupharma was founded in
2016, leveraging the expertise of its founders to invent and
characterize novel approaches selectively targeting the STING
pathway. Mavupharma completed a $20
Million Series A financing led by Frazier Healthcare
Partners and joined by Alpine BioVentures in 2017.
About AbbVie
AbbVie is a global, research and development-based
biopharmaceutical company committed to developing innovative
advanced therapies for some of the world's most complex and
critical conditions. The company's mission is to use its expertise,
dedicated people and unique approach to innovation to markedly
improve treatments across four primary therapeutic areas:
immunology, oncology, virology and neuroscience. In more than
75 countries, AbbVie employees are working every day to advance
health solutions for people around the world. For more information
about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com.
Follow @abbvie on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or
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SOURCE AbbVie