5 December 2019 - - UK-based drug discovery and development company Mission Therapeutics and US-based biopharmaceutical company AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) have identified several DUBs as potential drug targets in their Alzheimer's and Parkinson's R and D collaboration, the companies said.

AbbVie has nominated the panel of DUBs that will be progressed for further characterization and screening activities.

This is the first major milestone of the Companies' DUB research and preclinical development collaboration in neurodegenerative diseases.

Under the terms of the collaboration, announced in November 2018, Mission and AbbVie are working together to identify specific DUBs and discover suitable inhibitor compounds for the treatment of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

AbbVie then has the option to gain exclusive rights to develop and commercialize DUB inhibitors against up to four selected targets. Mission is eligible to receive success-based milestone payments and royalty payments for each commercialized product.

Over 50 m people worldwide are living with dementia and Alzheimer's, and 10 m more with Parkinson's. The diseases are associated with the accumulation of misfolded proteins, which are believed to cause impaired function and death of nerve cells in the brain.

DUBs help to maintain healthy nerve cells by regulating the degradation of the toxic proteins. By modulating specific DUBs within the brain, AbbVie and Mission aim to develop drug candidates that enhance degradation of toxic proteins to treat these neurodegenerative disorders.
Commenting on the development, Dr. Anker Lundemose, Mission's CEO said:

In recognition of its significance and impact, the collaboration between Mission and AbbVie has been shortlisted for Scrip's 2019 Best Partnership Alliance Award. The winner will be announced at the Scrip awards dinner on 4 December in London.

Mission Therapeutics is an early-stage drug development company targeting the ubiquitin pathway for the treatment of kidney disease, neurodegenerative disease, rare mitochondrial diseases and fibrosis.

The company has built a leading platform for the discovery and development of first-in-class, small molecule drugs that selectively target deubiquitylating enzymes an emerging drug class that is attracting significant commercial interest in the area of protein homeostasis.

In November 2018, Mission Therapeutics and AbbVie entered into a collaboration in the research and preclinical development of specified DUB inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease.

Mission has strong links with key academic and research centers, including Prof. Steve Jackson's Cancer Research UK Laboratories at the University of Cambridge Gurdon Institute, and leading UK centres in neurodegenerative diseases.

The company is managed by a team with broad international, commercial and clinical-science experience.

In February 2016, the company completed an USD86m financing that was led by Imperial Innovations (now part of IP Group) and Woodford Patient Capital Trust and included participation from existing investors Sofinnova Partners, Roche Venture Fund, Pfizer Venture Investments and SR One.

Mission Therapeutics was founded in 2011 and is based at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK.