Abbey Pharmaceuticals, a startup biotechnology company focused on
medications for substance abuse.
IF I were an ACAD shareholder, I don't think I'd be thrilled with my company donating its money, IP and President to a privately held startup.
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ACADIA Pharmaceuticals to Support Launch of New Company Focused on Substance Abuse Therapeutics
bwire
SAN DIEGO (Business Wire) -- ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ACAD) today announced that it
will provide initial seed funding to help establish Abbey
Pharmaceuticals, a startup biotechnology company focused on
medications for substance abuse. The new company will be led by Mark
R. Brann, Ph.D., who has resigned from his position as President and
Chief Scientific Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors of
ACADIA to assume the position of Chief Executive Officer of Abbey.
Abbey will seek external equity financing, after which it intends to
collaborate with ACADIA to gain access to selected drug discovery
assets that may have utility in the field of substance abuse. ACADIA
has agreed to increase its investment to an aggregate of $1 million
upon Abbey's completion of an external equity financing.
"We are excited to work with Mark in the formation of this new
company that has the potential to play an important role in the field
of substance abuse therapeutics," said Uli Hacksell, Ph.D., Chief
Executive Officer of ACADIA. "While ACADIA's discovery platform may
generate novel drug candidates with applications in substance abuse,
this indication is outside of our strategic focus and we believe it
can best be pursued by an independent and focused effort. Mark
exhibits a passion for this area of research and I look forward to the
opportunity for ACADIA to collaborate with Mark and Abbey."
George Koob, Ph.D., an internationally recognized authority in the
field of substance abuse, will collaborate with Dr. Brann in forming
Abbey. Dr. Koob is a Professor at Scripps Research Institute and
Director of The Pearson Center for Alcoholism and Addiction Research.
"Science has paved the way for breakthrough therapeutic
interventions in the field of substance abuse, but significant
pharmaceutical commitment to the area has only recently emerged," said
Leslie L. Iversen, Ph.D., Chairman of ACADIA's Board of Directors.
"Having known both Mark and George throughout their scientific
careers, I believe that together they can uniquely advance this highly
underserved therapeutic area. On behalf of the board and employees of
ACADIA, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mark for his
vast contributions as ACADIA's founder, President, CSO, and board
member. We wish him well in his new role at Abbey and we look forward
to the potential for ACADIA to collaborate with this organization
focused on the substance abuse area."
"I am very excited to form a company committed to delivering new
therapeutic options to treat substance abuse," said Mark R. Brann,
Ph.D., Abbey's Chief Executive Officer. "Abbey is poised to pursue
this specialty CNS area, where breakthroughs in science can be
directly linked to solving major unmet medical needs in large
potential markets. I am very proud of the team, technology and
exciting clinical programs that we have built at ACADIA. With its
strong senior management bolstered by the recent addition of Dr. Roger
Mills as Executive Vice President, Development, I believe ACADIA is
well positioned to execute on its rich clinical pipeline."
About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals
ACADIA is a biopharmaceutical company utilizing innovative
technology to fuel drug discovery and clinical development of novel
treatments for central nervous system disorders. ACADIA currently has
five Phase II-stage clinical programs as well as a portfolio of
preclinical and discovery assets directed at diseases with large unmet
medical needs, including schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, sleep
maintenance insomnia, and neuropathic pain. All of the drug candidates
in ACADIA's product pipeline emanate from discoveries made using its
proprietary drug discovery platform. ACADIA's corporate headquarters
is located in San Diego, California and it maintains research and
development operations in both San Diego and Malmo, Sweden.
About Abbey Pharmaceuticals
Abbey Pharmaceuticals is a newly formed, privately held
biotechnology company focused on medications for substance abuse.
Abbey is building fully integrated clinical and preclinical programs
that focus on CNS targets that have been well validated clinically.
Forward-Looking Statements
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