AbbVie and Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals have entered a collaboration and option-to-license agreement to develop next-generation therapies for psychiatric disorders.
Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will make an initial payment of $65 million to Gilgamesh, with potential for up to $1.95 billion in option fees and milestone payments. Additionally, Gilgamesh is eligible to receive tiered royalties on net sales, contingent upon the successful development and commercialization of the therapies.
This partnership will leverage AbbVie's expertise in psychiatry and Gilgamesh's innovative research platform to create novel neuroplastogens designed to treat conditions such as mood and anxiety disorders. Neuroplastogens aim to offer the clinical benefits of classic psychedelic compounds without their significant psychoactive effects.
New York-based Gilgamesh was founded in 2019, with a focus on treating mental health conditions with novel compounds that capture the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics.
For AbbVie, the collab comes amid a push to bolster its presence in the neuroscience sector, with the drugmaker spending $8.7 billion to acquire Cerevel Therapeutics back in December. The move gave AbbVie access to Cerevel's pipeline targeting psychiatric and neurological disorders, including emraclidine, a positive allosteric modulator undergoing phase 2 trials for schizophrenia.