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Roche (RHHBY) to Acquire Obesity Drug Maker Carmot for $2.7B
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Roche (RHHBY - Free Report) , the Swiss pharma giant, announced that it will acquire the privately owned U.S.-based company, Carmot Therapeutics, Inc. for $2.7 billion. It did so in a bid to foray into the lucrative obesity market.
Per the terms of the agreement, Roche will pay Carmot’s equity holders $2.7 billion in cash upon closing. Carmot’s equity holders are also entitled to receive up to $400 million as milestone payments.
The acquisition provides Roche access to Carmot’s differentiated portfolio of incretins, including lead assets CT-388, CT-996 and CT-868.
CT-388, a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist, is being evaluated for the treatment of obesity in patients with and without type 2 diabetes, injected subcutaneously once a week. This candidate is phase II-ready and has the potential to work as a standalone as well as combination therapy to improve weight loss.
CT-996, a once-daily oral, small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist currently in phase I, is intended to treat obesity in patients with and without type 2 diabetes.
CT-868, a phase-II, once-daily subcutaneous injectable, is a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist intended for the treatment of type 1 diabetes patients who are obese.
Per the company, the incretin-based portfolio could also be expanded to other indications where incretins play a role, including cardiovascular, retinal and neurodegenerative diseases.
Roche will also have exclusive access to Carmot’s innovative Chemotype Evolution discovery platform in metabolism to strengthen Roche’s R&D efforts and portfolio across cardiovascular and metabolic diseases further.
Roche's shares have lost 12.2% year to date against the industry’s growth of 4.8%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The obesity market has garnered much interest lately, giving impetus to drugs like Novo Nordisk’s (NVO - Free Report) Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s (LLY - Free Report) Mounjaro (tirzepatide), among others.
Wegovy has witnessed exponential demand in the international market, boosting Novo Nordisk. NVO continues to expand its supply capacity for Wegovy after its relaunch in the United States as well as in other geographies.
LLY’s Mounjaro, a once-weekly glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, was approved in 2022 as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes.
The FDA has recently approved tirzepatide, under the brand name Zepbound, for adults with obesity or those who are overweight and also have weight-related medical problems such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, obstructive sleep apnea or cardiovascular disease, to lose weight and keep it off.
However, this market is challenging as well.
Pharma giant Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) recently suffered a setback after the company observed side effects from its twice-daily weight loss pill, danuglipron, in phase III studies. Twice-daily dosing of danuglipron showed statistically significant reductions from baseline in body weight for all doses. However, high rates of gastrointestinal side effects were observed in the study, including up to 73% nausea, 47% vomiting and 25% diarrhea. Moreover, high discontinuation rates (more than 50%) were observed across all doses compared with placebo (approximately 40%). Consequently, Pfizer announced that it will not advance danuglipron further.
Consequently, Pfizer announced that it will not advance danuglipron further.
Image: Bigstock
Roche (RHHBY) to Acquire Obesity Drug Maker Carmot for $2.7B
Roche (RHHBY - Free Report) , the Swiss pharma giant, announced that it will acquire the privately owned U.S.-based company, Carmot Therapeutics, Inc. for $2.7 billion. It did so in a bid to foray into the lucrative obesity market.
Per the terms of the agreement, Roche will pay Carmot’s equity holders $2.7 billion in cash upon closing. Carmot’s equity holders are also entitled to receive up to $400 million as milestone payments.
The acquisition provides Roche access to Carmot’s differentiated portfolio of incretins, including lead assets CT-388, CT-996 and CT-868.
CT-388, a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist, is being evaluated for the treatment of obesity in patients with and without type 2 diabetes, injected subcutaneously once a week. This candidate is phase II-ready and has the potential to work as a standalone as well as combination therapy to improve weight loss.
CT-996, a once-daily oral, small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist currently in phase I, is intended to treat obesity in patients with and without type 2 diabetes.
CT-868, a phase-II, once-daily subcutaneous injectable, is a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist intended for the treatment of type 1 diabetes patients who are obese.
Per the company, the incretin-based portfolio could also be expanded to other indications where incretins play a role, including cardiovascular, retinal and neurodegenerative diseases.
Roche will also have exclusive access to Carmot’s innovative Chemotype Evolution discovery platform in metabolism to strengthen Roche’s R&D efforts and portfolio across cardiovascular and metabolic diseases further.
Roche's shares have lost 12.2% year to date against the industry’s growth of 4.8%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The obesity market has garnered much interest lately, giving impetus to drugs like Novo Nordisk’s (NVO - Free Report) Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s (LLY - Free Report) Mounjaro (tirzepatide), among others.
Wegovy has witnessed exponential demand in the international market, boosting Novo Nordisk. NVO continues to expand its supply capacity for Wegovy after its relaunch in the United States as well as in other geographies.
LLY’s Mounjaro, a once-weekly glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, was approved in 2022 as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes.
The FDA has recently approved tirzepatide, under the brand name Zepbound, for adults with obesity or those who are overweight and also have weight-related medical problems such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, obstructive sleep apnea or cardiovascular disease, to lose weight and keep it off.
However, this market is challenging as well.
Pharma giant Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) recently suffered a setback after the company observed side effects from its twice-daily weight loss pill, danuglipron, in phase III studies. Twice-daily dosing of danuglipron showed statistically significant reductions from baseline in body weight for all doses. However, high rates of gastrointestinal side effects were observed in the study, including up to 73% nausea, 47% vomiting and 25% diarrhea. Moreover, high discontinuation rates (more than 50%) were observed across all doses compared with placebo (approximately 40%). Consequently, Pfizer announced that it will not advance danuglipron further.
Consequently, Pfizer announced that it will not advance danuglipron further.
Roche currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.