AbbVie, Calibr to drive preclinical and clinical advancements in expanded partnership

AbbVie and Scripps Research institute’s division Calibr have announced a broadened strategic collaboration targeted at developing preclinical and early-stage clinical assets across a host of therapeutic areas such as immunology, oncology, and neuroscience.

The extended partnership which aligns with AbbVie’s core areas of interest builds upon the company’s 2019 partnership with Scripps Research.

Thomas Hudson, senior vice president, research and development, chief scientific officer, AbbVie, said, “We’ve made significant progress to advance rapidly many preclinical and clinical development programs across small molecule, biologics and CAR-T modalities.” Hudson highlighted the eagerness to work with Calibr to further explore and develop new technologies and clinical indications to provide groundbreaking treatments for patients.

As part of the extended agreement, Calibr will present a number of new discovery targets and preclinical assets for option considerations to AbbVie. These new proposals will be in addition to the programs initially included in the collaboration, spanning preclinical to IND stages of development.

Peter Schultz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Scripps Research and Calibr, affirmed the value of the partnership with AbbVie. “This expansion represents an important step forward in our mission of translating scientific insights and discoveries into innovative, clinically validated drugs,” he stated.

The terms of the extended agreement involve AbbVie providing research option payments to Calibr over a period of five years. This will grant AbbVie a first-exclusive option to develop and commercialize candidates arising from Calibr’s independent preclinical research. If AbbVie decides to exercise its option for a specific program, Calibr could receive additional payments, including option exercise fees, success-based development and commercial milestone payments, and tiered royalties.