Nxera Pharma to Receive US$10 Million Milestone Payment from AbbVie under Collaboration Targeting Neurological Diseases
- This marks the third milestone achieved under the collaboration and reflects the steady progress of the pipeline
- Under the terms of the agreement, Nxera is eligible to receive up to US$1.2 billion in potential option, development and commercial milestones, in addition to tiered royalties based on sales
Tokyo, Japan and Cambridge and London, UK, 20 April 2026 – Nxera Pharma Co., Ltd. (“Nxera” or “the Company”; TSE 4565) announces that it has reached a third R&D milestone under its multi-target discovery collaboration with AbbVie focused on neurological diseases, resulting in a payment of US$10 million to Nxera.
Nxera and AbbVie entered this multi-target collaboration in 2022 to leverage Nxera’s NxWave™ platform to discover novel medicines targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) associated with neurological disease. This current milestone relates to the identification of validated and differentiated ‘hit’ molecules against a neurology target.
Under the terms of the agreement, Nxera is eligible to receive up to US$40 million in near-term research milestones, as well as further potential option, development and commercial milestones totalling up to US$1.2 billion, plus tiered royalties on global sales. This is the third milestone received in this collaboration; the first milestone was achieved in and the second milestone in .
Christopher Cargill, President and CEO of Nxera Pharma, commented: “This third milestone marks an important step forward in translating our discovery capabilities into a growing pipeline of novel programmes within our collaboration with AbbVie. As this productive partnership continues, we are encouraged by the advancement of multiple targets and the potential to address significant unmet needs in neurological disease.”
–END–
About Nxera Pharma
Nxera Pharma is a technology powered biopharma company in pursuit of new specialty medicines to improve the lives of patients with unmet needs in Japan and globally. The Company has built an agile, new-generation commercial business in Japan to develop and commercialize innovative medicines, including several launched products, to address this high-value, large and growing market and those in the broader APAC region. In addition, the Company is advancing an extensive pipeline internally and in partnership with leading pharma and biotech companies powered by its unique NxWave™ GPCR structure-based drug discovery platform. Nxera Pharma operates at key locations in Tokyo and Osaka (Japan), London and Cambridge (UK), Basel (Switzerland) and Seoul (South Korea) and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (ticker: 4565).
For more information, please visit
LinkedIn: | X: | YouTube:
Enquiries:
Media and Investor Relations
Shinya Tsuzuki, VP, Head of Investor Relations
Maya Bennison, Communications Manager
+81 (0)3 5210 3399 | +44 (0)1223 949390
MEDiSTRAVA (for International Media)
Mark Swallow, Frazer Hall, Erica Hollingsworth
+44 (0)203 928 6900 |
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the discovery, development, and commercialization of products. Various risks may cause Nxera Pharma Group’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward looking statements, including: adverse results in clinical development programs; failure to obtain patent protection for inventions; commercial limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; dependence upon strategic alliance partners to develop and commercialize products and services; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals to market products and services resulting from development efforts; the requirement for substantial funding to conduct research and development and to expand commercialization activities; and product initiatives by competitors. As a result of these factors, prospective investors are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
