Roche to Acquire Carmot Therapeutics for $2.7 Billion to Enter Obesity Treatment Market

On Monday, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche (RHHBY.US) announced that it had signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire U.S.-based clinical-stage biotechnology company Carmot Therapeutics, Inc. for $2.7 billion in cash. The agreement also includes additional payments of up to $400 million contingent on the achievement of certain milestones. Subject to customary closing conditions, the transaction is currently expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.

It is reported that Carmot Therapeutics has three clinical-stage assets with best-in-class potential in the fields of obesity and diabetes. After the completion of the transaction, Carmot Therapeutics and its approximately 70 employees will join Roche's pharmaceuticals division. Roche will acquire Carmot Therapeutics’ current R&D portfolio, including all clinical and preclinical assets.

Roche pointed out that Carmot Therapeutics' clinical-stage incretin development portfolio includes: CT-388, a Phase 2 trial-ready dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist for the treatment of obese patients with or without type 2 diabetes; CT-996, a small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist currently in Phase 1 clinical stage, aimed at treating obese patients with or without type 2 diabetes; and CT-868, a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist in Phase 2 trials for the treatment of overweight or obese patients with type 1 diabetes.

Roche stated that these assets have tremendous potential in treating obesity, diabetes, and potentially other diseases, whether used alone or in combination with Roche's internal assets.

In addition, Roche will exclusively gain access to Carmot Therapeutics' innovative Chemotype Evolution discovery platform in the field of metabolism, further strengthening its R&D efforts and portfolio in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker said, "Obesity is a heterogeneous disease that leads to many other diseases, which together constitute a significant global health burden. By combining Carmot's portfolio with our pharmaceutical pipeline projects, diagnostic expertise, and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases portfolio, our goal is to raise the standard of care and positively impact patients' lives."

Editor: Guo Mingyu