AbbVie acquires Alzheimer's biotech for $1.4B

AbbVie has announced plans to acquire Aliada Therapeutics for $1.4 billion in cash, continuing its strategic expansion into central nervous system (CNS) research and development. This purchase marks AbbVie's third acquisition of the year and enhances its commitment to developing treatments for CNS diseases.

Aliada Therapeutics, based in Boston, specializes in creating therapies that can cross the blood-brain barrier, a significant challenge in treating CNS conditions. The company's chief medical officer, Michael Ryan, highlighted the difficulty many CNS-targeted therapies face in reaching late-stage trials due to this barrier. Aliada’s leading drug, ALIA-1758, is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease. This drug involves administering an anti-pyroglutamate amyloid beta antibody either intravenously or subcutaneously. The past few years have seen the approval of three amyloid-targeting Alzheimer's medications from companies like Eisai/Biogen and Eli Lilly.

This acquisition is part of AbbVie's larger strategy to strengthen its CNS medicine portfolio, which includes ongoing late-stage Parkinson's trials, three Phase 2 Alzheimer's drugs, and other experimental treatments for conditions such as major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and epilepsy. In 2022, AbbVie made a significant investment of $8.7 billion to acquire Cerevel Therapeutics, further solidifying its focus on CNS research.

The importance of CNS research for AbbVie is underscored by the company's need to diversify as it faces competition for its immunology blockbuster, Humira. Roopal Thakkar, AbbVie’s chief scientific officer, indicated that there is considerable opportunity for growth in CNS treatments, pointing out the vast unmet needs across various conditions such as migraine, unipolar depression, schizophrenia, and anxiety. Thakkar emphasized the potential for developing more effective treatments that could approach a cure-like level.

The acquisition of Aliada follows the company's earlier purchases of biotechs Celsius and Landos Biopharma this year. AbbVie’s strategic moves are part of a broader trend in the pharmaceutical industry, where large companies are increasingly acquiring smaller, innovative biotechs for relatively modest sums, often under $2 billion. According to data from Endpoints News, there have been over 15 such acquisitions this year alone.

Aliada Therapeutics was founded in 2021 and received approximately $32 million in seed funding from investors including Johnson & Johnson, RA Capital, Sanofi Ventures, and OrbiMed. The company was initially led by CEO Adam Rosenberg until February of this year and was co-founded by former Johnson & Johnson leader Sanjaya Singh, who is currently a scientific advisor to Aliada and the Chief Scientific Officer of Third Arc Bio. Additionally, Aliada had previously partnered with Chiesi Global Rare Diseases on treatments for lysosomal storage disorders.

The acquisition is expected to be finalized by the end of the year, further solidifying AbbVie's position in the CNS treatment market and exemplifying the ongoing trend of large pharmaceutical companies acquiring smaller biotechs to enhance their research and development capabilities.