Philadelphia company Nimble Therapeutics announced on Dec. 13 that it had been acquired by Chicago-based AbbVie.
The proposed acquisition will add Nimble’s lead asset, an investigational oral peptide IL23R inhibitor in preclinical development for psoriasis, as well as other oral peptide assets across autoimmune diseases to AbbVie’s list of assets. AbbVie will acquire Nimble’s peptide synthesis, screening and optimization platform which uses proprietary technology to drive peptide candidate discovery and optimizations.
“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,” Jonathon Sedgwick, Ph.D., senior vice president and global head of discovery research at AbbVie, said. “Together, AbbVie and Nimble have the potential to help address the significant unmet medical need for people living with autoimmune diseases.”
Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will purchase Nimble for $200 million in cash once the transaction is approved. The agreement faces customary adjustments, in addition to interim funding payments, the companies said. And the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing condition, including a waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.
“Nimble Therapeutics is committed to transforming the discovery of oral peptide-based medicines. With AbbVie’s world-class expertise in developing and commercializing medicines on a global scale, Nimble’s novel oral therapies will be well-positioned to reach more people living with autoimmune diseases,” Jigar Patel, Ph.D., founder and chief executive officer, Nimble Therapeutics, said. “The talented, passionate and dedicated team at Nimble has made great progress over the past few years and we are pleased that AbbVie has recognized the tremendous potential of our proprietary platform and emerging immunology pipeline.”