The Dementia Discovery Fund’s Portfolio Company Caraway Therapeutics Establishes Collaboration with AbbVie to develop small molecule therapeutics targeting Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders

The Dementia Discovery Fund’s Portfolio Company Caraway Therapeutics Establishes Collaboration with AbbVie to develop small molecule therapeutics targeting Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders

Boston, MA (US) and London (UK) – June 9, 2021. The Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) is pleased to announce that Caraway Therapeutics, a portfolio company originally incubated and seeded by DDF and SV Health Investors, has signed an exclusive collaboration, license and option agreement with AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) to develop and commercialize Caraway’s small molecule therapeutics targeting TMEM175. TMEM175 is a potassium ion channel critical to lysosomal function implicated in both Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Under the terms of the agreement, Caraway will receive an upfront cash payment of $17 million. After Caraway completes certain pre-clinical research and development activities for the collaboration program, AbbVie has an option to license the program and proceed into IND-enabling studies, clinical development, and commercialization. 

Caraway is eligible to receive up to $267 million in payments, including upfront and future option payments, and development milestones. Caraway is also eligible to receive additional regulatory and commercial milestones, tiered royalties on global commercial sales, and has the option to participate in product development in return for higher royalty rates.

Further details of Caraway’s collaboration with AbbVie can be found in the press release issued by Caraway Therapeutics on their website: https://carawaytx.com/news/

Dr. Jonathan Behr, Partner at The Dementia Discovery Fund, and a Board Director of Caraway Therapeutics, said, “Today’s collaboration with AbbVie highlights the significant progress that Caraway Therapeutics has made since the company was started by DDF and SV Health investors in 2017 based on the insights and vision of its Co-Founders, including Venture Partner Tim Harris, now Chair of Caraway’s Scientific Advisory Board. We are confident that by working together with AbbVie, the company can continue to successfully develop novel small molecule therapeutics, targeting TMEM175, which are designed to bring important clinical benefits to patients with Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.”