AbbVie has become the latest large pharmaceutical company to dip its toes into neuroplastogen research and development as it announced what might be the most substantial foray of its kind this morning.

(Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article read: “AbbVie has become the latest large pharmaceutical company to dip its toes into psychedelic drug development”. A representative from AbbVie reached out to Psychedelic Alpha shortly after publication to clarify that the collaboration “is focused on the research and discovery of next-generation neuroplastogens, which are a distinct, novel class of compounds” that “are well-differentiated from psychedelics in that they are not expected to elicit any hallucinogenic or dissociative effects”.)

The company, which is among the largest pharmaceutical firms in the world, announced a collaboration and option-to-license agreement with the privately held psychedelic drug developer Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals.

The pair will focus on developing “next-generation neuroplastogens for the treatment of psychiatric disorders”, according to the press release. In that announcement, AbbVie tempers the “promising clinical efficacy” shown in studies of ‘classic psychedelics’ with mention of the fact that their “profound psychoactive effects, such as hallucinations, [necessitate] in-office administration and concomitant supportive care.”

AbbVie hopes that Gilgamesh’s candidates will provide significant clinical benefits while being “designed to minimize the challenging effects seen with first-generation compounds.”

The high-level terms of the agreement revolve around an option-to-license which, if exercised, would see AbbVie lead on the development and commercialisation of any given candidate.

In terms of financials, AbbVie disclosed that Gilgamesh would receive $65M upfront, with $1.95 billion in aggregate option fees and milestones up for grabs plus mid-single to low-double digit royalties on net sales; should one of the drugs make it to market.

It’s the latest lift for Gilgamesh, which announced a grant worth up to $14M from the National Institute on Drug Abuse just two months ago (see Gilgamesh Scoops $14m from NIDA to Develop Safer Ibogaine Analog for Opioid Use Disorder).

Today’s announcement might also be further evidence of pharma’s growing interest in psychiatry drugs, which Biopharma Dive’s Jacob Bell discussed just last week.

AbbVie appears set on playing a key role in this return to psychiatry and CNS, which had been largely abandoned by big pharma in favour of other therapeutic areas like oncology.

In September 2015 the company received approval for cariprazine which it brought to market under the brand name Vraylar. The drug is indicated for schizophrenia, Bipolar I or an adjunct for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and netted nearly $2.8 billion in U.S. revenues for the 2023 calendar year.

Evidently keen to continue expanding its CNS pipeline, in December AbbVie announced its intent to acquire Cerevel Therapeutics in a transaction valued at around $8.7 billion. Cerevel’s lead candidate is emraclidine for schizophrenia. The FTC is scrutinising the deal.