Nxera Pharma Achieves $10M Milestone in AbbVie Neurology Collaboration; Partnership Hits Second R&D Milestone In GPCR Drug Discovery

Nxera Pharma Co., Ltd. (TSE: 4565) announced that it has achieved a second major research milestone under its multi-target discovery collaboration with AbbVie, focused on neurological diseases. This achievement triggers a US$10 million milestone payment to Nxera, reflecting continued progress in the partnership.

Dr. Matt Barnes, Chief Scientific Officer and President of Nxera Pharma UK, said: “Reaching this second milestone highlights the continued productivity of our collaboration with AbbVie, and reflects the remarkable work of our teams in applying our NxWave™ platform to discover and advance novel molecules that modulate neurological disease targets. We are very proud of the progress achieved so far and look forward to continuing our work towards impactful new therapies for patients.”

The collaboration, launched in 2022, leverages Nxera’s NxWave™ platform to identify and develop novel medicines targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) linked to neurological conditions. The latest milestone was reached after the discovery of validated and differentiated ‘hit’ molecules against a neurology target, reinforcing the potential of Nxera’s drug discovery technology.

According to the agreement, Nxera is eligible for up to US$40 million in near-term research milestones and could earn an additional US$1.2 billion in option, development, and commercial milestones, along with tiered royalties on global sales. This marks the second milestone payment, following the first achieved in June 2024, highlighting steady advancement in the collaboration.