Abide grants Celgene options
Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ:CELG) paid Abide Therapeutics Inc. (Princeton, N.J.) $50 million up front in exchange for an exclusive option to acquire Abide for undisclosed terms. Celgene gained an undisclosed equity stake in Abide, and existing investor Cardinal Partners made a $10 million equity investment. Abide has exclusive rights from The Scripps Research Institute to a chemical proteomic technology to identify selective inhibitors against serine hydrolases (see BioCentury, Feb. 13, 2012).
Celgene also gained an exclusive option to license ex-U.S. rights to the first two Abide compounds targeting serine hydrolases for inflammation and immunological disorders that move into the clinic. This could include Abide's ABD101131, a small molecule inhibitor of a serine hydrolase in the endocannabinoid pathway that is in preclinical development and is slated to move to the clinic in 2015. Abide, which also expects to generate three to four additional candidates, would be eligible for additional undisclosed payments if Celgene exercises the option. ...