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Celgene Support Gives Abide Therapeutics $50M

San Diego-based Abide Therapeutics Inc. has partnered with biotech titan Celgene Corp. to develop new drugs in inflammation and immunology, receiving $50 million upfront in the deal.

Princeton, N.J.-based Celgene (Nasdaq: CELG) has taken a small equity stake in Abide and has received the exclusive option to acquire Abide. Also, Abide can earn additional payments if Celgene exercises certain licensing options, as well as additional milestone payments.

Under the deal, Abide plans to create three or four new drug candidates.

The company has also received $10 million in Series B funding from its sole investor, Cardinal Partners. Abide was founded in 2011 with funding from Cardinal Partners, and its therapies are based on research from The Scripps Research Institute researchers Ben Cravatt and Dale Boger. The company employs about 15 people and plans to double that in the next few years, President and CEO Alan Ezekowitz said.

Abide’s most advanced drug candidate, called AB101131, is expected to enter clinical trials next year. Abide hasn’t disclosed which disease the drug is targeting.

This is the new company’s second pharma deal in the past year. The first was with Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK), announced in May 2013, which could lead to milestone payments up to $430 million, Abide said.

Ezekowitz said Abide’s platform attracted the interest of Celgene and Merck because its therapies target the serine hydrolase family of enzymes — substances that are gaining attention for their untapped therapeutic potential.

These enzymes play a key regulatory role in body functions like cognition, digestion, immunity and metabolism. Disease can arise when these enzymes begin to malfunction. Abide’s drugs inhibit this enzyme activity, working “like a key that sits in a lock,” Ezekowitz said, to regulate the misfirings that happen at a molecular level.

A few top-selling drugs already target this enzyme family, such as diabetes drug Januvia and Alzheimer’s disease treatment Aricept. Both have yearly sales in the billions, which has encouraged the big pharma to invest early in Abide, Ezekowitz said, because it has the technology to target all 200 enzymes in the serine hydrolase family.

“We hope we have a couple of blockbusters brewing,” he said.

Abide Therapeutics Inc.

CEO: Alan Ezekowitz

Revenue: Recently raised $10 million in Series B from Cardinal Partners; also just received $50 million upfront in a partnership from Celgene Corp.

Net income or loss: Not disclosed

No. of local employees: 15

Investors: Cardinal Partners

Headquarters: La Jolla

Year founded: 2011

Company description: Developing drugs that target the enzymes responsible for autoimmune and inflammation disorders

Key factors for success: Ability to attract attention from large pharmaceutical companies for the class of drugs Abide is pursuing

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