BY Richard Summerfield
In a deal that will significantly boost its anti-obesity pipeline, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche has agreed to acquire Carmot Therapeutics. Under the terms of the deal, Carmot’s equity holders will receive $2.7bn in cash, and a further $400m if certain milestones are met.
The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, will provide Roche with access to Carmot’s current research and development portfolio, including all clinical and preclinical assets. Carmot’s most promising obesity drug candidate, a once-weekly injection called CT-388, belongs to a class known as dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists and mimics a hormone typically released into the body after eating. Following encouraging phase one trial results, the Carmot drug is ready to be tested on humans in the second of three trial stages, with a possible market launch in the 2030s.
“Obesity is a heterogeneous disease, which contributes to many other diseases that together comprise a significant health burden worldwide,” said Thomas Schinecker, chief executive of Roche Group. “By combining Carmot’s portfolio with programs in our Pharmaceuticals pipeline and our Diagnostics expertise and portfolio of products across cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, we are aiming to improve the standard of care and positively impact patients’ lives.”
“We are encouraged by the clinical data for the lead asset CT-388, which demonstrated substantial weight loss in Phase 1b,” said Levi Garraway, chief medical officer and head of global product development at Roche. “These data suggest the potential for a differentiated profile to treat obesity and its associated diseases. The broad Carmot portfolio offers different routes of administration and opportunities to develop combination therapies that treat obesity and potentially other indications.”
“We are proud of the pipeline that we have built in obesity and diabetes and the strong data we have generated to date,” said Heather Turner, chief executive of Carmot. “With distinct routes of administration and the potential for combinations, we feel Carmot’s pipeline has the potential to meet patients where they are in their metabolic journey and have a significant impact on patients’ lives. We are confident that Roche will enable robust development of our programs and help us achieve our goal of delivering life-changing therapeutics for people living with metabolic and potentially other diseases.”
The announcement comes just over a month after Roche agreed to acquire Telavant from Roivant Sciences and Pfizer for an initial $7.1bn, granting the company the rights to an experimental treatment for inflammatory bowel disease.
News: Roche joins race for obesity drugs with $2.7 billion Carmot deal