AbbVie has signed a definitive agreement with Nimble Therapeutics under which AbbVie will acquire Nimble, including its lead asset, an investigational oral peptide IL23R inhibitor in preclinical development for the treatment of psoriasis and a pipeline of other novel oral peptide candidates with potential across several autoimmune diseases.

Additionally, AbbVie will acquire Nimble's peptide synthesis, screening, and optimization platform, which uses proprietary technology to help drive rapid discovery and optimization of peptide candidates for a range of targets.

"The addition of Nimble's pipeline to AbbVie's existing pipeline, combined with our deep clinical and translational expertise in immunology, represents an important growth opportunity. Together, AbbVie and Nimble have the potential to help address the significant unmet medical need for people living with autoimmune diseases," said Jonathon Sedgwick, PhD, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Discovery Research, AbbVie.

"Nimble Therapeutics is committed to transforming the discovery of oral peptide-based medicines. With AbbVie's world-class expertise in developing and commercializing medicines on a global scale, Nimble's novel oral therapies will be well-positioned to reach more people living with autoimmune diseases," said Jigar Patel, PhD, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Nimble Therapeutics.

"The talented, passionate and dedicated team at Nimble has made great progress over the past few years and we are pleased that AbbVie has recognized the tremendous potential of our proprietary platform and emerging immunology pipeline," added Patel.

Nimble's preclinical-stage IL23R inhibitor is an investigational oral therapy for the treatment of psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IL23R is a clinically validated therapeutic target in certain autoimmune diseases and a major contributing factor to psoriasis and IBD pathogenesis and progression through increased inflammation and amplified immune responses.

Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will make a cash payment of USD 200 million at closing to acquire Nimble, subject to certain customary adjustments, in addition to certain interim funding payments. Nimble's shareholders remain eligible for a potential payment, subject to the achievement of a development milestone. The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.

Nimble is backed by founding investors Telegraph Hill Partners and Roche Ventures.