Roche has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Telavant from Roivant Sciences and Pfizer for an initial $7.1bn, giving the Swiss drugmaker access to an experimental treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
An estimated eight million people worldwide are affected by IBD, a group of chronic gastrointestinal disorders causing symptoms such as persistent diarrhoea and abdominal pain.
Despite the availability of a range of treatments, about 80% of IBD patients do not achieve lasting remission, which can have a long-term impact on quality of life.
Telavant’s RVT-3101 belongs to a class of new treatments known as anti-TL1A antibodies and is currently in development for IBD, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
The candidate was recently evaluated as a treatment option for patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis in the phase 2b TUSCANY-2 trial, in which RVT-3101 was associated with improved clinical remission in the study’s maintenance stage.
Roche will gain the rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise RVT-3101 in the US and Japan pending clinical and regulatory success and, in addition to the $7.1bn upfront, will pay a near-term milestone payment of $150m.
The company said it is “committed to starting a global phase 3 trial for RVT-3101 as soon as possible”.
Thomas Schinecker, chief executive officer of the Roche Group, said: “We strongly believe this novel TL1A directed antibody has the transformational potential to make a significant difference for patients living with IBD and potentially other diseases.
“We are excited to add this promising new therapy in development to our portfolio and to make it available to patients as quickly as possible.”
There has been a growing interest in anti-TL1A antibodies within the pharmaceutical industry.
Earlier this month, Sanofi and Teva Pharmaceuticals announced an agreement to jointly develop and commercialise Teva’s anti-TL1A therapy for IBD, with the deal potentially worth up to $1.5bn.
The candidate is currently being evaluated in phase 2b clinical trials as a treatment for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Additionally, in April, Merck & Co agreed to acquire anti-TL1A antibody developer Prometheus Biosciences for around $10.8bn.