Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Allergan plc / Heptares Therapeutics Ltd.

2016 · Licensing/Option · $790M · Complete

WRONG BY 38 POINTS

Not actually an acquisition — a $125M-upfront licensing pact whose lead Alzheimer's drug was halted for primate tumors and the whole alliance was handed back, unmonetized, by AbbVie in 2021

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The coverage arc

Apr 07, 2016 BioPharma Dive Bullish

BioPharma Dive framed the deal as a confident standalone pivot post-Pfizer collapse, noting Allergan's pending $36B Teva proceeds would enable more aggressive…

Jan 29, 2021 FierceBiotech Bearish

FierceBiotech characterized the AbbVie termination of the inherited Allergan-Heptares pact as a confirmation that the muscarinic Alzheimer's program no longer…

Jan 31, 2021 Alzforum Bearish

AbbVie terminated the Heptares licensing agreement in January 2021 after acquiring Allergan, returning all rights to Sosei Heptares; HTL0018318 had been…

Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.

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Allergan licensed exclusive global rights from UK-based Heptares Therapeutics to a portfolio of novel subtype-selective muscarinic receptor agonists in development for Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders. Heptares received $125M upfront plus eligibility for up to ~$665M in Phase I, II, III development and launch milestones, plus tiered royalties.

Did it work? Outcome assessment

Not actually an acquisition — a $125M-upfront licensing pact whose lead Alzheimer's drug was halted for primate tumors and the whole alliance was handed back, unmonetized, by AbbVie in 2021

Strategic verdict
Failed to Achieve

Key facts

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Allergan plc / Heptares Therapeutics Ltd. (this deal)2016$790M12
Allergan plc / Merck & Co., Inc. (CGRP receptor antagonist program)2015$250M91
Allergan plc / SkinMedica, Inc.2012$375M55
Allergan plc / Inamed Corporation2005$3.2B50
Allergan plc / Oculeve, Inc.2015$250M33
Allergan plc / Zeltiq Aesthetics, Inc.2017$2.5B32
Allergan plc / Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.2015$2.1B23

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