AbbVie and BioMed X collaborate to develop novel approaches for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

AbbVie and BioMed X announced today that they have entered into a collaboration agreement to establish a research group focusing on new treatment options of tau pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).

As part of BioMed X’s new innovation model, outstanding early career scientists from leading academic institutions world-wide are invited to submit original project proposals focusing on intracellular tau processing and clearance, including proteostasis, as well as studies to elucidate how tau processing is affected by AD-related alterations such as elevated oligomeric amyloid-beta, or the genetic factors linked to late onset AD.

AbbVie and BioMed X will jointly select the best ideas and research talents to form a new research group within BioMed X’s open innovation lab on the multi-disciplinary life science campus of the University of Heidelberg. The unique supportive setting of BioMed X and AbbVie provides an exciting opportunity for the selected young researchers to combine state-of-the-art academic research with AbbVie’s drug development know-how in order to elaborate completely new treatment options.

“The need for new treatment options of tau pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease is critical. This collaboration agreement addresses this need and combines the best of the academic and industry worlds”, said Alfred Hahn, Senior Director and Head of Discovery at AbbVie. “We are very excited about our collaboration with AbbVie since it is the first US-based pharma company that supports our new innovation model”, said Christian Tidona, founder and Managing Director of BioMed X.

Further details of the agreement and financial terms are not disclosed.