AbbVie Completes Acquisition of Aliada Therapeutics

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AbbVie announced the completion of its acquisition of Aliada Therapeutics.¹ As a result, Aliada’s lead investigational asset, ALIA-1758, is an Alzheimer’s treatment that’s in Phase 1 trials and will now fall under AbbVie’s pipeline.

In a press release, AbbVie vice president of neuroscience development Dawn Carlson, MD, MPH, said, “Alzheimer's disease poses a significant public health challenge, impacting millions worldwide and is becoming more prevalent as populations age. With the acquisition now complete, we look forward to advancing potentially disease-modifying therapies such as ALIA-1758 for Alzheimer's disease and bolstering our neuroscience discovery and development efforts by leveraging Aliada's novel CNS drug delivery platform."

AbbVie first announced its plans to acquire Aliada in October of this year.² At the time, AbbVie stated that the agreement meant that it would acquire Aliada’s outstanding equity at a cost of $1.4 billion in cash.

In a press release issued at the time, AbbVie executive vice president of research and development and chief scientific officer Roopal Thakkar, MD, said, “Neuroscience is one of our key growth areas and we are committed to driving innovation in this field to address critical unmet needs for patients living with seriously debilitating neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. This acquisition immediately positions us to advance ALIA-1758, a potentially best-in-class disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer's disease. In addition, Aliada's novel BBB-crossing technology strengthens our R&D capabilities to accelerate the development of next-generation therapies for neurological disorders and other diseases where enhanced delivery of therapeutics into the CNS is beneficial."

In the same press release, Aliada Therapeutics’ chief medical officer Michael Ryan said, “We are pleased to announce the acquisition of Aliada by AbbVie and are excited about AbbVie's commitment to bringing ALIA-1758 to patients with Alzheimer's disease. Our proprietary MODEL™ platform has enabled the development of ALIA-1758, a promising step forward in brain delivery of an anti-amyloid antibody therapy. Many promising CNS-targeted therapies fail to reach late-stage trials due to their inability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Our MODEL™ platform addresses this challenge directly, efficiently delivering targeted drugs and potentially transforming how we treat neurological diseases."

In related news, AbbVie announced in October that FDA approved Vyalev for the treatment of motor functions in adults with advanced Parkinson’s disease.³ The drug is described as the first subcutaneous 24-hour infusion of levodopa-based therapy.

In a press release issued at the time, professor of neurology and director of the Parkinson’s and Movement Disorder Center at the University of South Florida Robert A. Hauser, MD, MBA, said, “For too long, the Parkinson's community has had limited treatment options for advanced disease. Due to the progressive nature of the disease, oral medications are eventually no longer as effective at motor symptom control and surgical treatment may be required, This new, non-surgical regimen provides continuous delivery of levodopa morning, day and night."

Sources

1. AbbVie Completes Acquisition of Aliada Therapeutics. AbbVie. December 11, 2024. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/abbvie-completes-acquisition-of-aliada-therapeutics-302329026.html
2. AbbVie to Acquire Aliada Therapeutics, Strengthening Focus in Alzheimer's Disease and Neuroscience Pipeline. AbbVie. October 28, 2024. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://news.abbvie.com/2024-10-28-AbbVie-to-Acquire-Aliada-Therapeutics,-Strengthening-Focus-in-Alzheimers-Disease-and-Neuroscience-Pipeline
3. U.S. FDA Approves VYALEV™ (foscarbidopa and foslevodopa) for Adults Living with Advanced Parkinson's Disease. AbbVie. October 17, 2024. Accessed December 11, 2024. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-fda-approves-vyalev-foscarbidopa-and-foslevodopa-for-adults-living-with-advanced-parkinsons-disease-302278666.html