Brise Pharmaceuticals said on November 2 that it has achieved several near term milestones under its exclusive licence agreement with AbbVie, and disclosed the deal’s terms publicly for the first time. The agreement, entered in 2024, covers two of Brise’s preclinical migraine programmes. Brise is responsible for discovery work and AbbVie will lead global development and commercialisation.
The aggregate potential transaction value, including development, commercial, regulatory and sales milestones, could reach up to 757 million dollars, plus royalties on future sales. The companies did not disclose how much has been paid to date or the value of the milestones already achieved, so the 757 million dollar figure is a ceiling contingent on both programmes succeeding, not committed consideration.
Brise, based in Beijing, is a clinical stage company focused on pain conditions. Its lead programme, BR005, is an oral small molecule in pivotal trials in China for the acute treatment of migraine in adults, and it is not part of the AbbVie licence as described. The licensed programmes are preclinical, which puts any revenue years away.
For AbbVie, the deal adds externally sourced discovery to a migraine franchise anchored by Qulipta (atogepant) in prevention and Ubrelvy in acute treatment, both facing an increasingly crowded field of CGRP class competitors. Licensing preclinical assets from a Chinese originator also continues the pattern of US majors buying early stage innovation from China based discovery companies at milestone weighted prices.