AbbVie acquires UK biotech company DJS Antibodies for $255m

AbbVie has acquired DJS Antibodies, a privately-held UK-based biotech company, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $255 million, in a move to further strengthen its immunology pipeline.

DJS Antibodies discovers and develops antibody drugs that target difficult-to-drug disease-causing proteins like G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

Through the transaction, AbbVie has acquired DJS-002, which is DJS Antibodies’ lead program. Designed as a potential lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptor 1 (LPAR1) antagonist antibody, DJS-002 is presently in investigational preclinical studies for the treatment of fibrotic diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

Commenting on AbbVie acquisition of DJS Antibodies, Jonathon Sedgwick — AbbVie vice president and global head of discovery research, said: “We are excited to bring the innovative science behind DJS-002 and the talented team at DJS to AbbVie.”

“This acquisition will deliver new capabilities to enhance our current antibody research activities, an opportunity to strengthen our immunology portfolio, and provide a strong foothold for expanded research efforts in the dynamic bioscience hub in Oxford, UK.”

AbbVie acquisition of DJS Antibodies. Photo courtesy of AbbVie Inc.

The acquisition also provides AbbVie access to the British biotech company’s proprietary HEPTAD platform, which is expected to complement the current capabilities of the American publicly listed pharma company in biotherapeutics research.

The HEPTAD antibody discovery platform has been built with an eye on transmembrane protein targets.

DJS Antibodies, on the other hand, is expected to make use of AbbVie’s drug discovery expertise to produce antibody therapeutics and new biology insights against targets such as GPCRs.

David Llewellyn and Joe Illingworth — DJS Antibodies co-founders, commenting on AbbVie acquisition of DJS Antibodies, said: “DJS was built on the principles of scientific curiosity and an aspiration to discover clinically meaningful innovative medicines.

“The whole team is incredibly excited to take the next step in this journey with AbbVie as we work together to accelerate the translation of our lead program into the clinic and develop an exciting research center here in the UK.”

Under the terms of the pact, DJS Antibodies shareholders are eligible for potential contingent payments on meeting some development milestones associated with the DJS-002 asset.

AbbVie expects to retain all the existing employees of DJS Antibodies as well as the Oxford facility of the British biotech company.

Apart from founding investors Oxford Science Enterprises and Johnson & Johnson Innovation, DJS Antibodies’ other investors include LifeArc, Amgen Ventures, and Sedgwick Yard.