BioArctic announced that it entered into a strategically important collaboration with AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), a global biopharmaceutical company, to develop and commercialize BioArctic’s portfolio of antibodies directed against alpha-synuclein for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other potential indications.

Parkinson’s disease is the second most-common neurological disease, affecting more than 10 million people worldwide. Mutations in alpha-synuclein are strongly linked to development of Parkinson’s disease. Soluble aggregates of the alpha-synuclein protein are toxic to neurons and lead to the deposits that are a hallmark of the disease.

“AbbVie has shown a strong commitment to Parkinson’s disease and I am proud that they have chosen to collaborate with BioArctic. I am looking forward to a successful partnership that hopefully will result in a new innovative disease modifying treatment becoming available to the large number of patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease,” said Gunilla Osswald, CEO at BioArctic.

Financial terms were not disclosed.