Lundbeck acquires Abide Therapeutics and with it ABX 1431.

H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) and Abide Therapeutics, Inc. (Abide) announced signing of a definitive agreement in which Lundbeck LLC has agreed to acquire Abide. Under the terms of the agreement, Lundbeck may pay $250 million (approximately DKK 1.65 billion) upfront with a commitment to pay future development and sales milestones to the group of current owners of up to $150 million (approximately DKK 1 billion). This acquisition provides Lundbeck a novel discovery platform and a U.S.-based research hub. Abide has developed a world class platform to discover potent and selective serine hydrolase inhibitors. Serine hydrolases are one of the largest and most diverse classes of enzymes found in nature, which include lipases, esterases, thioesterases, amidases, peptidases and proteasesi. In mammals, serine hydrolases represent roughly 1% of all proteins and have vital roles in many pathophysiological processes, including blood clotting, digestion, nervous system signaling, inflammation and cancer. The lead molecule ABX-1431 is a potent selective inhibitor of the serine hydrolase monoacylglycerol lipase (MGLL) that potentiates endocannabinoid signaling to restore homeostatic balance in the central nervous system. It has the potential to address multiple indications in psychiatry and neurology and is initially being explored in clinical trials as a first-of-its-kind compound for the treatment of Tourette syndrome (exploratory phase IIa) and for neuropathic pain (phase I).