Allergan has acquired Chase Pharmaceuticals, an Irvine, California-headquartered clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on neurodegenerative disorders, for an upfront payment of $125 million (subject to certain adjustments) and additional potential regulatory and sales milestone payments related to Chase’s lead compound and certain backup compounds.

Chase’s lead compound, CPC-201, is a combination of donepezil, a commonly prescribed acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI), and solifenacin, a peripherally acting cholinergic blocker, being developed to treat Alzheimer’s disease. AChEIs have been shown to improve cognition in Alzheimer’s disease patients, but currently approved AChEIs are said to be only modestly effective due to dose-limiting side effects, according to Allergan.

Chase Pharmaceuticals recently completed an end-of-Phase II meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and, based on the FDA’s feedback, Allergan said it intends to advance CPC-201 into a single Phase III registration study in 2017.

Source: Allergan