Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker AbbVie ( ABBV ) said

on Monday it would acquire Aliada Therapeutics for $1.4 billion

in cash, gaining access to the therapy developer's Alzheimer's

disease drug candidate.

Aliada is developing ALIA-1758, an antibody for the

Alzheimer's disease, which AbbVie ( ABBV ) said could be a potential

best-in-class therapy.

The deal is expected to close by the end of this year.