AbbVie Strengthens Neurological Pipeline with $8.7 Billion Acquisition of Cerevel Therapeutics

Editor's note: this story was originally published on BioPharmInternational.com.

AbbVie has completed its acquisition of Cerevel Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in neuroscience diseases. Cerevel is now a part of AbbVie, AbbVie announced in an Aug. 1, 2024 press release. The acquisition, which AbbVie initially announced in December 2023, is valued at $45 per share in cash, or a total equity value of approximately $8.7 billion (1).

"AbbVie's acquisition of Cerevel strengthens our foundation in neuroscience and positions us to deliver sustainable long-term performance into the next decade and beyond," said Robert A. Michael, chief executive officer, AbbVie, in a company press release. "Our new Cerevel colleagues share our commitment to deliver meaningful change for patients living with neurological and psychiatric conditions. We are excited to welcome the talented Cerevel team to AbbVie."

Under the acquisition, AbbVie gains Cerevel's pipeline, which comprises multiple programs across several neurological and psychiatric conditions with significant unmet need, including schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and mood disorders. According to the press release, Cerevel's pipeline complements AbbVie's existing neuroscience portfolio.

Among Cerevel’s promising drug candidates is emraclidine, a potential best-in-class, next-generation antipsychotic. Emraclidine is a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of the muscarinic M4 receptor that is currently being studied for treating schizophrenia. A Phase Ib study showed that emraclidine demonstrated promising efficacy and safety. It is currently completing two Phase II trials.

Tavapadon is a first-in-class dopamine D1/D5 selective partial agonist for managing Parkinson's disease. This late-stage drug candidate is currently in Phase III studies and has the potential to work as both a monotherapy and an adjunctive treatment. The efficacy and safety-tolerability profile for tavapadon could enable its utility in treating early Parkinson's disease and can be complementary to AbbVie's existing symptomatic therapies for treating advanced Parkinson's disease, according to the press release. Tavapadon met its primary endpoint in a pivotal Phase III study, and data from additional Phase III trials are anticipated to come out later this year.

Meanwhile, CVL-354 is a potential best-in-class kappa opioid receptor (KOR) antagonist currently in Phase I development. This drug candidate can potentially provide significantly improved efficacy and tolerability compared to existing treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD). Finally, darigabat, currently in Phase II development, is an alpha 2/3/5 selective γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptor PAM for treatment-resistant epilepsy and panic disorder.

The acquisition of Cerevel marks an additional multibillion-dollar transaction AbbVie has completed within this year. In February 2024, the company completed its acquisition of ImmunoGen (2), a transaction valued at $10.1 billion that added promising next-generation antibody drug conjugate drug candidates to AbbVie’s pipeline, boosting AbbVie’s presence in solid tumor therapeutics (3).

References

1. AbbVie. AbbVie to Acquire Cerevel Therapeutics in Transformative Transaction to Strengthen Neuroscience Pipeline. Press Release, Dec. 6, 2023.
2. AbbVie. AbbVie Completes Acquisition of ImmunoGen. Press Release, Feb. 12, 2024.
3. AbbVie. AbbVie to Acquire ImmunoGen, including its Flagship Cancer Therapy ELAHERE (mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx), Expanding Solid Tumor Portfolio. Press Release, Nov. 30, 2023.

Source: AbbVie