Roche Partners with Oxford BioTherapeutics in $1.036 Billion Deal to Develop Novel Antibody Therapies Targeting New Cancer Antigens

March 19, Oxford, UKSan Jose, California, Oxford BioTherapeutics (OBT), a clinical-stage oncology company with therapies based on Immuno-Oncology (IO) and Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC), announced a multi-year collaboration with Roche to discover new potential first-line antibody therapies for cancer treatment.

OBT's Recently Launched Enhanced Proprietary OGAP®Verify discovery platform can enhance sensitivity, thereby selecting targets with improved attributes for drug development.OGAP®VerifyIs the world's largest cancer-specific membrane protein library,Contains data on approximately 7,000 membrane proteins in most solid and hematologic malignancies as well as normal tissues. The data have been generated directly on patient cancer biopsies and normal tissues using quantitative mass spectrometry. High sensitivity allows for the detection of membrane proteins at 50 copies per cell on the cell surface. Its sensitivity surpasses IHC and reduces the risk in selecting new tumor targets. The average abundance of tumor antigen targets in patient tissue samples can be estimated, enabling the selection of drug modalities and payloads.

According to the terms of the agreement, targets will be identified through the OGAP®Verify discovery platform and validated through research collaboration. Roche will lead any further research, development, and commercialization efforts for these targets. OBT will receive an upfront payment of up to $36 million from Roche and may be eligible for milestone payments potentially exceeding $1 billion, as well as product royalties on net sales.

Oxford BioTherapeutics CEO Dr. Christian Rohlff stated:"We are honored to collaborate with Roche, a global leader in oncology, to accelerate the application of novel cancer targets identified through our proprietary discovery platform, OGAP-Verify. This collaboration builds on our efforts to enhance, validate, and advance oncology target discovery, and we look forward to leveraging Roche's deep expertise to translate these insights into potential new therapies for patients. Our discovery philosophy is highly patient-centric, and Roche’s integrated pharmaceutical and diagnostic capabilities are unique within the industry."

Boris L. Zaïtra, Head of Corporate Business Development at Roche, stated:"We are delighted to have reached this strategic collaboration with OBT. By combining Roche's expertise in discovering and developing transformative therapies with OBT’s innovative target discovery platform, we aim to unlock new possibilities in cancer treatment. This partnership underscores our commitment to advancing potential first-in-class antibody therapies. Our goal is to jointly accelerate the development of innovative treatments to address significant unmet patient needs in oncology."