Swiss drugmaker Roche has signed an agreement potentially worth more than $1.7 billion focused on an investigational drug designed to treat cancers by targeting genetic drivers of disease.
The Basel, Switzerland-based drugmaker said Tuesday that it had in-licensed exclusive development and commercialization rights outside the U.S. for Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Blueprint Medicines’ pralsetinib, a RET inhibitor for which it applied for Food and Drug Administration approval earlier this month.
Under the terms of the deal, Roche will pay Blueprint $675 million upfront and make an equity investment of $100 million in the company. Blueprint is also eligible to receive milestone payments of up to $927 million, along with royalties on ex-U.S. sales. The companies will co-commercialize the drug in the U.S., while Roche will have exclusive rights to the drug in other markets, except for greater China, a term that encompasses the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Shares of Blueprint were up 1.55% on the Nasdaq in late-morning trading following the news.
“In bringing pralsetinib to patients, we will leverage our global reach and expertise in oncology, as well as our capabilities in diagnostics and the use of real-world data toward our aim of providing personalized treatments for patients,” Roche head of pharma partnering James Sabry said in a statement.
Blueprint filed with the FDA on June 1 for approval of pralsetinib in RET fusion-positive thyroid cancers and advanced or metastatic RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer. The drug is a potential competitor to Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly’s Retevmo (selpercatinib), a RET inhibitor that received accelerated FDA approval in May for the same indications.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
In a note to investors, Cowen analyst Marc Frahm wrote that the collaboration and financial terms are a positive for Blueprint. Based on conversations with investors, the investment bank had viewed pralsetinib as competitive with Retevmo, but Blueprint was seen as being at a disadvantage relative to Lilly in terms of ability to gain market share due to its smaller marketing enterprise. As such, he wrote, investors thought pralsetinib’s value would be maximized by Blueprint finding a larger partner, with Roche being mentioned as ideal.
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