Acquisitive Roche, Equillium sink funds into IL-2 and GI drugs

Published: Sep 07, 2022

By Paul Elias

BioSpace

Roche acquired privately held Good Therapeutics and its immuno-oncology platforms for $250 million, plus future milestone payments, on Wednesday. 

“We’re excited to bring Good’s innovative PD-1-regulated IL-2 program into our existing oncology pipeline to complement our work on PD-1-targeted IL-2 therapeutics,” said Dr. James Sabry, Roche’s partnering chief, in a statement. 

Good’s most advanced project is a preclinical, IL-2 cytokine-based therapy targeting the PD-1 protein. Once the deal closes, Good plans to launch a new company—Bonum Therapeutics—to continue developing the technology, but for other targets not included in the acquisition.  

Good launched in 2016 after raising $30 million in venture capital financing. Sabry said Good’s technology complements the Swiss giant’s existing immuno-oncology projects, mostly being developed at Genentech.  

Roche has been expanding its cancer treatment reach in recent months through big-ticket collaboration deals with several companies. These include global licensing agreements with: Poseida (through Roche) to develop blood cancer therapies; Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals for vixarelimab in fibrosis; Bicycle Therapeutics to explore and commercialize immuno-oncology treatments. 

Equillium Buys Metacrine in All-Stock Deal

Also on Wednesday, Equillium announced it is acquiring Metacrine Inc. in an all-stock deal.  

The deal is expected to add $33 million in value, according to Equillium’s estimates. 

The cash infusion “is expected to see us through multiple data catalysts and operational milestones,” said Equillium’s chief executive Bruce Steel. 

Equillium is developing cytokine inhibitors to treat autoimmune and inflammatory disorders and has three clinical trials underway. Metacrine is developing treatments targeting the farnesoid X receptor for liver and gastrointestinal diseases. 

Source: BioSpace