BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Celgene licenses preclinical candidate from Abide

March 30, 2018 3:17 PM UTC

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ:CELG) gained exclusive, worldwide rights to preclinical candidate ABX-1772 from Abide Therapeutics Inc. (San Diego, Calif.), and the companies terminated a 2014 deal under which Celgene had rights to ABX-1431, an option to Abide's next compound in its pipeline and an option to acquire Abide. The San Diego company will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and is eligible for undisclosed milestones and royalties.

Abide is developing inhibitors of the serine hydrolase family of enzymes. Lead candidate ABX-1431 is a small molecule inhibitor of monoglyceride lipase (MGLL; MAGL) in Phase I testing for Tourette's syndrome and neuroinflammatory disorders associated with central pain. Under the 2014 deal, Celgene gained an option for ex-U.S. rights to the candidate, which it exercised in 2016. Abide received an upfront payment of $50 million in the original deal and a $20 million fee upon the option's exercise (see BioCentury, Oct. 3, 2016)...