Google's Calico Allies With AbbVie In $1.5B Research Partnership

AbbVie announced that it is partnering with Google life sciences startup Calico in a research and development collaboration centered on treatments for age-related diseases, including cancer and neurodegeneration.

Under the terms of the agreement, the partners may co-invest up to $1.5 billion for the discovery, development, and marketing of new targeted treatments. Both parties will initially provide up to $250 million for the collaboration and will evenly share costs and profits. Calico will be responsible for the establishment of an R&D facility in the San Francisco Bay area, which will tackle aging and age-related diseases. AbbVie will have the option to lead late-stage development and commercialization of treatments following completion of Phase IIA studies.

Michael Severino, EVP of R&D and Chief Scientific Officer at AbbVie, said, “Our broad R&D experience and capabilities will complement Calico's biotechnology expertise and innovative scientific approaches. Together, we are confident that we will bring new therapeutic solutions to patients.”

Art Levinson, CEO and founder of Calico, said, “Our relationship with AbbVie is a pivotal event for Calico, whose mission is to develop life-enhancing therapies for people with age-related diseases. It will greatly accelerate our efforts to understand the science of aging, advance our clinical work, and help bring important therapies to patients everywhere.”

Calico (short for California Life Company) was launched in September last year under the leadership of Levinson, who was the former CEO of biotech Genentech. The company has kept a low profile since then, only disclosing its high-profile hires of top geneticists such as Cynthia Kenyon of University of California, San Francisco and Hal Barron from Roche. Calico said it anticipates hiring more people to fill critical positions immediately and gather a team of scientists and research staff.

Aside from being a major investor in Calico, Google also backs genetic testing company 23andMe. The Internet company has also launched initiatives in medical science, including Google Genomics and Google Glass.