New Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker is keen to restore Roche's battered drug development record after major late-stage trial setbacks in the areas of Alzheimer's and cancer immunotherapy last year.
The acquired drug, against inflammatory bowel disease such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, belongs to a class of new treatments known as anti-TL1A antibodies which has attracted major deal activity in the pharma industry.
Merck & Co (MRK.N) in April agreed to buy anti-TL1A antibody developer Prometheus Biosciences for $10.8 billion.
Inflammatory bowel disease is a group of chronic gastrointestinal disorders with almost 8 million people diagnosed worldwide and 80% of all individuals not experiencing lasting remission, Roche said.
"We strongly believe this novel TL1A directed antibody has the transformational potential to make a significant difference for patients living with inflammatory bowel disease and potentially other diseases," said Roche CEO Schinecker.
Persons:
drugmaker Roche, Arnd, New Roche, Thomas Schinecker, Schinecker, Roche, John Revill, Ludwig Burger, Friederike Heine, Jason Neely
Organizations:
REUTERS, Roivant Holdings, Pfizer Inc, pharma, Sanofi, Merck & Co, Prometheus Biosciences, Thomson
Locations:
Basel, Switzerland, ZURICH, FRANKFURT, Swiss, U.S, Japan, Zurich, Frankfurt