This announcement was covered in Fierce Biotech and Labiotech. For the full press release, please see below.

Deep Science Ventures launches partnership with AbbVie to create new companies targeting inflammatory diseases

Deep Science Ventures (DSV), a London-based venture creator, is teaming up with AbbVie, a global pharmaceutical company, to build one or more new companies targeting immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Together, the partners aim to unlock new approaches that not only ameliorate disease, but present potential cures for patients.

Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases encompass a wide array of conditions affecting quality of life for up to 5% of the population, yet there is a lack of curative treatments. Ideal treatments would allow disease elimination through resolution of the underlying immunological mechanism, and restoration of the correct balance within the immune system (‘immune homeostasis’). Today’s drugs offer (often temporary) disease suppression and sustained drug-free remission in patients remains rare. Transformative new therapies are required.

With AbbVie’s deep experience in pioneering new therapies in immunological disease, the collaboration will leverage Deep Science Ventures’ proven approach to ideation-based innovation and venture creation, with the intent of creating new companies focused on curative therapies for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

Laura Fletcher, Head of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, Pharma at Deep Science Ventures said: “With this partnership, we welcome our first corporate Pharma venture partner. It is a statement of intent that represents our commitment to developing commercially-ambitious, transformative curative therapies. AbbVie are the partner of choice within immunology due to their deep disease area expertise and track record as one of the leading pharma companies in external innovation.”

Members of DSV and AbbVie will work closely together to identify the areas of unmet need that will most benefit from DSV’s first-principles approach. For each selected area, DSV will recruit a Founding Analyst to lead further development, working hand in hand with DSV and AbbVie to design new therapeutic approaches. Approaches meeting the parties’ investment criteria will be spun out into new companies and both DSV and AbbVie will have the opportunity to provide pre-seed capital to the new companies at launch.