AbbVie and Nimble Therapeutics today announced a definitive agreement under which AbbVie will acquire Nimble, including its lead asset, an investigational oral peptide IL23R inhibitor in preclinical development for the treatment of psoriasis and a pipeline of other novel oral peptide candidates with potential across several autoimmune diseases. Additionally, AbbVie will acquire Nimble's peptide synthesis, screening, and optimization platform, which uses proprietary technology to help drive rapid discovery and optimization of peptide candidates for a range of targets.
"The addition of Nimble's pipeline to AbbVie's existing pipeline, combined with our deep clinical and translational expertise in immunology, represents an important growth opportunity," said Jonathon Sedgwick, Ph.D., senior vice president and global head of discovery research, AbbVie. "Together, AbbVie and Nimble have the potential to help address the significant unmet medical need for people living with autoimmune diseases."
Nimble's preclinical-stage IL23R inhibitor is an investigational oral therapy for the treatment of psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IL23R is a clinically validated therapeutic target in certain autoimmune diseases and a major contributing factor to psoriasis and IBD pathogenesis and progression through increased inflammation and amplified immune responses.
Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will make a cash payment of $200 million at closing to acquire Nimble, subject to certain customary adjustments, in addition to certain interim funding payments. Nimble's shareholders remain eligible for a potential payment, subject to the achievement of a development milestone. The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.
