AbbVie, Gedeon Richter to partner on developing neuropsychiatric drugs

15-Mar-2022 - Last updated on 15-Mar-2022 at 13:43 GMT

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The US- and Hungary-based pharma firms will work on research, development, and commercialization of dopamine receptor modulators for potential treatments.

AbbVie and Gedeon Richter have announced a new co-development and licensing agreement, centered on a joint effort to research, develop, and commercialize novel dopamine receptor modulators for the potential treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases.

According to the two companies, this arrangement is built upon results of preclinical research carried out by Richter and includes a number of new chemical entities pinpointed development. AbbVie and Richter have a 15-year history of working together on central nervous system (CNS) projects, including previously globally launched products like cariprazine (VRAYLAR/REAGILA).

Tom Hudson, senior vice president of R&D and chief scientific officer with Abbvie, said in relation to the announcement, "In collaboration with Richter, we will continue to build on our research that seeks to provide additional insights into our understanding of cariprazine's clinical pharmacology and explore novel chemistry to identify new dopamine receptor modulators. AbbVie is committed to driving progress and finding solutions for patients living with complex neuropsychiatric conditions."

"I am very pleased to extend our existing co-operation under this new collaboration with AbbVie as it opens the way towards new products that could help alleviate the debilitating psychiatric and cognitive symptoms of many neuropsychiatric conditions, leading to an improved quality of life for patients suffering from these conditions around the world," said Gábor Orbán, CEO of Gedeon Richter. "I greatly value AbbVie's capabilities in the field of development and commercialization of drugs acting on the CNS and we are looking forward to entering this collaboration on new therapeutic options for patients and doctors."

Under the terms of the agreement, the collaboration reportedly includes preclinical as well as clinical R&D activities, with financing shared by the two parties. Richter will receive an upfront cash payment, along with potential future development, regulatory, and commercialization milestones; additionally, Richter may also receive sales-based royalties. AbbVie will have worldwide commercialization rights except for traditional markets of Richter, such as geographic Europe, Russia, other CIS countries, and Vietnam.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022; its completion is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals.