From Collaboration to Acquisition
The acquisition builds on a partnership established in 2024, when AbbVie and Gilgamesh entered into an option-to-license agreement to explore next-gen psychiatric therapies. That agreement will now transfer to the newly spun-off Gilgamesh Pharma, ensuring continuity in both research and collaboration.
Gilgamesh CEO Jonathan Sporn hailed the deal as transformative:
“AbbVie’s leadership in neuroscience makes them the ideal partner to accelerate bretisilocin’s development, while Gilgamesh can continue advancing its mission of delivering groundbreaking therapies for complex mental health and neurological conditions.”
Legal Advisors Behind the Deal
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AbbVie: Advised by Covington & Burling LLP, with partners Catherine Dargan and Kyle Rabe leading the team.
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Gilgamesh: Represented by Ropes & Gray LLP, with life sciences partner Hannah England and M&A partner Matt Byron steering the transaction.
This acquisition, blending pharmaceutical innovation with psychedelic science, underscores how far Big Pharma is willing to go in the race to conquer treatment-resistant depression—staking billions on a future where mental health care may look very different from today.
