DJS Antibodies

DJS Antibodies was a privately-held UK-based biotechnology company dedicated to discovering and developing antibody medicines targeting difficult-to-drug proteins, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Its lead program was DJS-002, a potential first-in-class lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptor one (LPAR1) antagonist antibody in investigational preclinical studies for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) and other fibrotic diseases as of October 2022. IPF is an aggressive, high mortality disease caused by fibrotic scarring in the lungs.

DJS Antibodies' proprietary HEPTAD platform was a novel approach to antibody discovery with specific capabilities targeting transmembrane protein targets like GPCRs, which were previously intractable to biologics approaches. In October 2022, AbbVie acquired DJS Antibodies for approximately USD 255 million in cash at closing, with the potential for additional payments upon achieving certain development milestones related to the DJS-002 program. Through this acquisition, AbbVie gained access to the HEPTAD platform to complement its existing biotherapeutics research capabilities. DJS Antibodies was anticipated to leverage AbbVie's drug discovery expertise to continue generating antibody therapeutics and novel biology insights against targets such as GPCRs.