Allergan collaborates with Rugen Therapeutics to develop ASD and OCD therapies

Allergan paid Rugen an upfront fee as per the deal but did not disclose the financial details of the research collaboration.

The company could pay Rugen additional money tied to starting the development stage and other milestones related to advancing compounds.

Allergan will have the exclusive option to acquire all rights including global intellectual property rights to the compounds following clinical proof of concept studies.

The companies will jointly develop new small molecule drug candidates, with initial focus on early stage compounds, which are first-in-class orally active molecules being developed to treat multiple central nervous system (CNS) disorders.

Allergan executive vice president of global brands research and development David Nicholson said: "Autism Spectrum Disorders and OCD are areas of medicine where there continues to be a substantial amount of unmet need in identifying and developing treatments for the underlying mechanisms of disease.

"The compounds we are working to develop with Rugen are in preclinical development, but we are excited by the possibilities that these novel molecules may provide to physicians, patients and caregivers facing these disorders."

The collaboration follows Allergan’s $160bn merger deal with Pfizer to create the world’s largest pharmaceutical company.

Allergan markets a portfolio of products that provide treatments for the CNS, eye care, medical aesthetics, gastroenterology, and other categories.

Image: Allergan headquarters in Irvine. Photo: courtesy of Coolcaesar at en.wikipedia.