Biotech company Promedior merges with Roche

The clinical stage biotech company Promedior, Inc. has announced the successful completion of its sale to Roche (SIX: RO, ROG;OTCQX: RHHBY). This acquisition, which was originally announced last November, entitles Roche to the full rights of Promedior’s entire portfolio of molecules for serious fibrotic diseases, most notably PRM-151, which is expected to launch from 2023. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Roche made an upfront cash payment of  $390 million, with additional contingent payments of up to $1 billion to be made on achievement of certain predetermined development, regulatory and commercial milestones.

“We’re excited to announce the close of the Roche acquisition and to join the Roche Group,” said Jason Lettmann, Chief Executive Officer of Promedior and General Partner of Lightstone Ventures. “We look forward to being part of Roche to further advance programmes in IPF, haematological cancer and other fibrotic disorders and bring new treatment options to patients within these areas of significant unmet need.” 

Promedior – a valuable acquisition

Promedior – a previously privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Lexington, Massachusetts – has successfully advanced its lead therapeutic candidate PRM-151 in human clinical trials and received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March 2019 for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). PRM-151, a recombinant form of human pentraxin-2 (PTX-2) protein, presents new opportunities for treating a wide range of systemic fibrotic diseases.

Phase II trial results demonstrated that PRM-151 is the first molecule to show a slowing of decline in lung function in combination with standard of care (SoC) therapies when compared to SoC alone. PRM-151 has also shown promising early clinical trial data in myelofibrosis (MF) and its anti-fibrotic mechanism has therapeutic potential in other fibrotic diseases.