AbbVie says it has acquired DJS Antibodies

While there has been a dearth mega-billion M&A activity in the pharma sector this year, smaller deals are coming through, now with US pharma major AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) announcing its second acquisition this year.

AbbVie has now announced the acquisition of DJS Antibodies Limited, a privately-held UK-based biotechnology company dedicated to discovering and developing antibody medicines that target difficult-to-drug disease-causing proteins, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

AbbVie will pay DJS shareholders around $255 million in cash at closing for the acquisition of DJS. DJS shareholders remain eligible for potential additional payments upon the achievement of certain development milestones related to the success of the DJS-002 program. AbbVie also said it expects to retain all current DJS employees and its facility in Oxford.