Roche Acquires Promedior for $1.39 Billion to Gain Breakthrough Anti-Fibrotic Therapy Platform

On November 16, Promedior announced that it had entered into a definitive acquisition agreement with Roche, under which Roche will acquire full rights to all of Promedior’s anti-fibrotic products, including PRM-151. The press release stated that PRM-151 is a “first-in-class” recombinant form of the endogenous pentraxin-2 (PTX-2) and represents the first drug to demonstrate significant improvement in lung function for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) when added to existing therapies. Previously, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had granted PRM-151 Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the treatment of IPF.

Promedior, Inc.’s anti-fibrotic immunomodulator PRM-151 is a recombinant protein developed based on its PTX-2 platform. PTX-2 is an endogenous immunomodulatory protein in the human body that regulates monocytes. It can specifically bind to cellular and tissue debris in the microenvironment of damaged tissues, and by binding to monocytes, it promotes their differentiation into macrophage subtypes that eliminate fibrotic tissue, rather than promoting inflammatory responses and pro-fibrotic macrophage subtypes.

▲Mechanism of Action of PTX-2 (Image source: Promedior official website)

PRM-151 has demonstrated activity in various preclinical models of fibrotic diseases, including pulmonary fibrosis, myelofibrosis, acute and chronic kidney disease, hepatic fibrosis, and age-related macular degeneration. Previously, a 76-week Phase 2 clinical study showed that patients in the PRM-151 treatment group achieved significant improvements in forced vital capacity (FVC) and 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), further demonstrating the long-term efficacy of PRM-151 in treating patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

▲Promedior’s R&D Pipeline and Progress (Image source: Promedior’s official website)

Under the terms of the agreement, Roche will pay Promedior, Inc. an upfront payment of $390 million, as well as potential milestone payments of up to $1 billion.

References:

[1] Promedior Enters Into Definitive Merger Agreement To Be Acquired By Roche, Retrieved November 15, 2019, from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/promedior-enters-into-definitive-merger-agreement-to-be-acquired-by-roche-300958867.html

[2] Promedior Announces Positive Long-term Safety and Efficacy Data from Open Label Extension Study of PRM-151 in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, Retrieved November 15, 2019, from https://www.promedior.com/news/releases/2019-0520-promedior-announces-positive-long-term-safety-and-efficacy-data-from-open-label-extension-study-of-prm-151-in-idiopathic-pulmonary-fibrosis.html

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