United Kingdom (Commonwealth Union)_ AbbVie will acquire DJS Antibodies, a private biotechnology business located in the United Kingdom, in a transaction that would provide it access to an experimental medication for a severe lung illness as well as technology for the development of certain types of antibody-based drugs. AbbVie will pay DJS investors $255 million upon completion of the deal. DJS stockholders might earn further compensation if the biotech’s principal medication reaches specific milestones.
This medicine, named DJS-002, is intended to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a deadly illness characterized by lung scarring that is often fatal within three to five years following diagnosis. DJS designed their medication to target and inhibit the LPAR1 protein, which is now undergoing preclinical testing. Other firms, such as Pliant Therapeutics and Anteros Pharmaceuticals, are working on IPF treatments. In 2019, Roche paid $390 million in cash to buy Promedior and its pipeline of fibrotic illness treatments, including IPF. However, there have been clinical setbacks.
Biogen also discontinued a mid-stage research of an IPF therapy the company was developing in 2019. Apart from its lead medication, AbbVie is also interested in DJS’s technology, which it uses to produce antibody drugs targeting proteins that are difficult to access. Specifically, DJS’s platform focuses on G protein-coupled receptors, or GPCRs, a large family of proteins involved in a wide variety of biological functions. They are the targets of several licensed medications, but their location in cell membranes makes them challenging to separate and model.
According to the statement from AbbVie, the acquisition of DJSs’ technology is a key advantage of the transaction and complements its current antibody therapeutic research. The business Septerna, which emerged in January with $100 million in investment from Third Rock Ventures and other biotech investors, is likewise dedicated to expanding the pool of GPCRs that may be targeted with medications. UK-based DJS was supported by Oxford Science Enterprises, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, LifeArc, Sedgwick Yard, and Amgen Ventures.
