Abide Therapeutics Announces Strategic Drug Discovery Collaboration with Celgene Corporation to Advance Treatment Paradigm for Patients with Immune Disorders

SAN DIEGO and PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Abide Therapeutics today announced it has entered into a strategic collaboration with Celgene Corporation to discover and develop new drugs in inflammation and immunology. Abide has pioneered innovative technologies to selectively target serine hydrolases, one of the largest enzyme families involved in regulating human physiology.

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Under the terms of the agreement, Celgene paid to Abide an upfront payment. Celgene will take a small equity stake in Abide and will retain an exclusive option to acquire the company. Abide can earn additional payments if Celgene exercises its option to license the rest of the world rights on the first two products that reach the clinic. Furthermore, Abide may receive additional milestone payments upon successful development of those programs. Abide's existing venture investor, Cardinal Partners, also participated in the equity financing.

During the collaboration, Abide will apply its technology platform, which can selectively and near-universally target the more than 200 members of the serine hydrolase 'superfamily,' to discover new therapeutic targets and drug candidates for the treatment of inflammation and immunological disorders. Included in the collaboration is Abide's most advanced compound, AB101131, which is estimated to enter first human studies in 2015. Abide expects to generate another 3-4 developmental candidates during the term of the collaboration.

"This collaboration is a wonderful opportunity for Abide to focus in a therapeutic area that is ideal to explore the full potential of our therapeutic engine.  Furthermore, this relationship will support Abide with Celgene's global expertise in discovery, development and commercialization of novel disease-altering therapies," said Alan Ezekowitz, MBChB, D.Phil, President and CEO of Abide Therapeutics. "The creative terms of this deal enables Abide to focus the components of the drug discovery continuum that we do best. We cannot wait to begin working closely with the team at Celgene."

"This collaboration with Abide illustrates our ongoing commitment to enable potentially disruptive technologies in the hands of talented drug hunters, here deployed in unique and powerful approach to target a validated but largely underexplored class of serine hydrolases," said Thomas Daniel, M.D., Executive Vice President and President, Global Research and Early Development at Celgene. "We are enthusiastic about the team, the technology, and the potential to create landmark therapies."

About Serine Hydrolases

The large family of serine hydrolases are validated but largely under explored as drug targets. These enzymes play a key regulatory role in human physiological processes, such as regulating CNS signaling, digestion, metabolism, inflammation, blood clotting, and life cycle of viruses and pathogens. Thus, the ability to target serine hydrolases has broad therapeutic potential. The proprietary Abide technology platform provides a unique highly selective small molecule collection that specifically targets the common catalytic site of serine hydrolases.  The technology provides a rapid and effective method for target identification and validation.  

About Abide Therapeutics

Abide Therapeutics is focused on developing innovative medicines that target serine hydrolases, one of the largest enzyme classes in nature with validated but mostly untapped therapeutic potential. Serine hydrolases play important regulatory roles in human physiology and disease. Abide has created a proprietary platform, based on technology developed at The Scripps Research Institute by Professors Ben Cravatt and Dale Boger, that specifically targets serine hydrolases with selective small molecules. The ability to target and modulate serine hydrolases has potential to develop new medicines in many therapeutic areas.  Abide is located in San Diego.  To learn more, visit www.abidetx.com. 

SOURCE Abide Therapeutics

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