AbbVie bets $130M on UCB spinout, bagging early-phase Alzheimer's and depression prospect

AbbVie is betting $130 million on an early-phase neuroscience play. The upfront outlay has given AbbVie ownership of Syndesi Therapeutics, a UCB spinout that recently began phase 1b clinical trials of its lead candidate SDI-118 in cognitive decline and depression.

Syndesi broke free from UCB in 2018, going solo with SV2A modulators and the support of investors including Novo Seeds and Johnson & Johnson Innovation. UCB has enjoyed success in SV2A, the target of its anti-epileptic drugs Briviact and Keppra, but the discovery of molecules with distinct properties led it to spin out assets. The molecules licensed to Syndesi appeared to act on cognition but not epilepsy.