Sept 24 (Reuters) – Drug developer Atavistik Bio said on Thursday it has signed a deal with Swiss drugmaker Roche potentially worth nearly $2 billion, including milestone payments, to develop oral treatments for cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic diseases.
Here are some details:
• As part of the agreement, Atavistik will receive $70 million upfront and could get up to $1.9 billion in research, development and commercial milestone payments, plus royalties on sales of approved drugs, the privately held drug developer said.
• The partnership covers multiple drug targets and will use Atavistik’s proprietary technology to find hidden pockets on disease-causing proteins, potentially allowing drugs to be developed against targets conventional methods have struggled to reach.
• Unlike many traditional drugs that bind to a protein’s main active site, Atavistik’s approach targets other sites that regulate how the protein works, which could allow for more selective treatments with fewer unintended effects.
• Atavistik will lead early discovery and research, while Roche will handle further lab and human testing, regulatory filings and commercialization, Atavistik said.
• Atavistik will continue developing its own treatments for rare blood disorders, including for hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, which causes malformed blood vessels.
• The companies did not disclose the number of targets covered by the partnership or provide development timelines.
(Reporting by Kunal Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
