RHHBY Roche Holdings Ltd AG (QX)

By Adria Calatayud

Roche Holding has agreed to buy Telavant Holdings from Roivant Sciences and Pfizer in a deal worth up to $7.25 billion that will give it rights to a therapy for inflammatory bowel disease and potentially multiple other indications.

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant said Monday that it will pay $7.1 billion upfront and make a near-term milestone payment of $150 million to acquire rights to develop and manufacture Telavant's RVT-3101 drug candidate and commercialize it in the U.S. and in Japan.

Telavant was jointly formed by Roivant and Pfizer last year to develop and commercialize RVT-3101 in the U.S. and Japan, with Roivant owning a 75% stake and Pfizer holding the remaining 25%, Roche said.

RVT-3101 is an antibody drug in development for people suffering from inflammatory bowel disease--a chronic gastrointestinal disorder--that has potential to be applied in multiple other diseases given that it targets both inflammation and fibrosis, Roche said.

As part of the agreement, Roche will also have an option to enter into a global collaboration with Pfizer for a next-generation antibody called p40/TL1A that is currently in early-stage clinical trials.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 23, 2023 01:35 ET (05:35 GMT)

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