Allergan and Heptares announce neurological disease partnership

Allergan has announced a new collaboration with Heptares Therapeutics in the field of Alzheimer's disease and neurological disorders.

The agreement will see Allergan license exclusive global rights to a broad portfolio of novel subtype-selective muscarinic receptor agonists from Heptares that are currently in development for the treatment of major neurological disorders.

Among the therapies that will be included in the deal are first-in-class selective small molecule agonists targeting muscarinic M1 and M4 receptors in the brain, discovered using Heptares' proprietary StaR technology platform.

Heptares will receive an upfront payment of $125 million (88.78 million pounds), up to $665 million based on the achievement of developmental milestones, and up to around $2.5 billion based on the drugs' future commercial performance.

David Nicholson, executive vice-president and president of global brands research and development at Allergan, said: "We look forward to advancing these compounds into the next stages of development, and potentially adding new approaches to helping physicians treat patients suffering from the effects of Alzheimer's disease."