AbbVie has announced its acquisition of Mitokinin, a discovery-stage biotechnology company developing a potential disease-modifying treatment for Parkinson’s disease (PD), in a deal worth over $650m.
The transaction gives AbbVie access to Mitokinin’s lead compound, a selective PINK1 activator designed to address mitochondrial dysfunction, which is suggested to be a contributing factor to PD pathogenesis and progression.
Additionally, Mitokinin will gain access to AbbVie’s neuroscience and external teams, as well as resources, to accelerate the PINK1 programme to investigational new drug-enabling studies.
Approximately over 8.5 million people worldwide are living with PD, a neurodegenerative disorder that progressively damages parts of the brain.
Mitochondrial dysfunction affects the cells in the body when the mitochondria cannot turn sugar and oxygen into energy.
“While current PD treatments may alleviate the symptoms of parkinsonism, there are currently no available therapies that prevent [the] progression of the disease,” said Jonathon Sedgwick, vice president and global head of discovery research at AbbVie. “Targeting PINK1 offers a novel approach that may alter disease pathogenesis.”
Mitokinin’s PINK1 works to maintain a healthy mitochondrial system by facilitating the turnover of dysfunctional mitochondria. Mutations of PINK1 are associated with the loss of PINK1 function, which can lead to PD.
Despite PINK1’s ability to address mitochondrial dysfunction already being recognised, developing selective, brain-penetrant PINK1 activators for therapeutic use in PD has been challenging.
“Our pre-clinical data demonstrates that our PINK1 activator compound can selectively enhance the active-form of PINK1… found on damaged mitochondria without impacting PINK1 regulation broadly,” said Nicholas Hertz, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Mitokinin.
Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will pay Mitokinin $110m in shareholders at closing for the acquisition.
Mitokinin’s shareholders also remain eligible for additional payments of up to $545m upon the achievement of certain development and commercial milestones related to the PINK1 programme, as well as tiered royalties based on net sales.
Sedgwick said: “PD continues to be a major unmet medical need, impacting patients, caregivers and society. With this acquisition, we are excited to grow our neuroscience portfolio and explore a potential new treatment option for PD.”