Allergan acquires Chase Pharmaceuticals

DUBLIN — In a move that will grow its Alzheimer's and central nervous system disease pipelines, Allergan on Wednesday announced its acquisition of Chase Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing neurodegenerative disorder treatments, including Alzheimer’s disease. Allergan paid $125 million up front, subject to certain adjustments, with the potential for additional regulatory and sales milestone payments related to Chase’s lead compound, CPC-201 and others. 

 

“Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disease that represents a major and growing global public health problem, for which very few approved treatment options are available, and the societal cost is measured in hundreds of billions of dollars, so the need for improved treatment choices is paramount,” Allergan chief research and development officer David Nicholson said. "This acquisition adds a new Phase 3 ready program for Alzheimer's disease to our CNS portfolio and builds on our commitment to develop innovative approaches to improve the lives of millions of patients suffering from this devastating illness."

 

CPC-201 is a combination of donepezil and solifenacin, which the company said offers the possibility of greater and more tolerable dosing, with the potential to provide significantly improved cognition and function among Alzheimer’s patients. 

 

“I am very excited that Allergan has recognized the strong clinical value of our development programs and look forward to seeing Allergan apply its leading clinical development and regulatory expertise to bring these potential treatments forward for patients," Chase Pharmaceuticals president and CEO Douglas Ingram said.