AbbVie has announced a strategic acquisition of Nimble Therapeutics, a biotech company spun out from Roche, in a deal valued at over $200 million. The acquisition will provide AbbVie with control of an oral, preclinical-stage drug for psoriasis, enhancing its immunology and inflammation portfolio.
Founded in 2019, Nimble Therapeutics is known for its proprietary platform focused on oral peptide drugs aimed at treating immunological and inflammatory disorders. The company’s lead drug candidate, an inhibitor targeting the IL-23 receptor, has shown promise in preclinical studies for conditions such as psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease.
As part of the deal, AbbVie gains access to Nimble’s peptide drug discovery platform, which has also produced potential therapeutic candidates for Roche and another unnamed pharmaceutical company. At the core of Nimble’s platform is a light-directed peptide synthesis technology capable of generating millions of peptidomimetic compounds using a library of more than 2,000 natural and non-natural amino acids.
Nimble, headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, opened an additional research facility in Philadelphia earlier this year to support its growing pipeline. The company’s pipeline includes a C5-targeting drug for myasthenia gravis and a TL1A inhibitor, further expanding its potential in immunology and inflammation treatments.
Jonathon Sedgwick, AbbVie’s global head of discovery research, commented, “Combining Nimble’s platform with AbbVie’s clinical and translational expertise in immunology represents an important growth opportunity for us.”
The terms of the agreement stipulate an upfront cash payment of $200 million upon closing, subject to customary adjustments, with additional milestone-based payments tied to the achievement of specific development objectives.
The IL-23 pathway, which is targeted by Nimble’s drug, is already a key focus in the psoriasis treatment space, with several injectable biologics, including AbbVie’s own Skyrizi (risankizumab), currently approved for psoriasis and other inflammatory conditions. Competing products targeting this pathway include Stelara (ustekinumab) and Tremfya (guselkumab) from Johnson & Johnson, as well as Eli Lilly’s Omvoh (mirikizumab) and Sun Pharma’s Ilumya (tildrakizumab).
In response to the growing demand for more convenient treatments, oral alternatives targeting the IL-23 pathway are beginning to emerge. Johnson & Johnson’s JNJ-2113, for instance, has shown promising results in phase 2b trials for psoriasis, offering a potential oral alternative to injectable therapies.
Despite the growing competition in the oral psoriasis treatment market—led by drugs with different mechanisms of action like Amgen’s Otezla (apremilast) and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Sotyktu (deucravacitinib)—AbbVie’s acquisition of Nimble strengthens its position in the rapidly evolving space.
AbbVie has long been a leader in immunology, with its blockbuster TNF inhibitor Humira (adalimumab) dominating the market for years. However, with Humira now facing biosimilar competition and declining sales, the company has focused on expanding its portfolio with newer treatments like Skyrizi and JAK inhibitor Rinvoq (upadacitinib) to offset the revenue loss.
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