Roche stakes $1 billion in cancer gene research firm
pharmafile | January 12, 2015 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Cancer, Foundation Medicine, Genentech, Roche, genomics, jp morgan
Roche has announced a huge billion-dollar investment in the cancer genomics research firm Foundation Medicine.
Timed with the beginning of the JP Morgan healthcare investor conference in San Francisco this week, Roche says it will spend $1 billion on shares and investments in Foundation Medicine in a ‘broad R&D collaboration’ to ‘accelerate new product development initiatives’.
The investment will mean that Roche owns between 52.4% and 56.3% of Foundation Medicine, a company that that uses genetic analysis to help develop and select drugs for cancer patients.
In a similar deal to the one in which Roche initially invested in Genentech – which Roche eventually bought outright – Foundation Medicine will continue to function as an independent company and despite the massive investment and its majority stake, Roche will have only three seats on the nine-person board at the Foundation.
Roche is the biggest maker of cancer drugs worldwide, and such a large stake will be seen as a sign that the emerging field of molecular information and genomic analysis will play an increasingly important role for future medicines and diagnostic solutions for cancer patients.
In a statement the two companies say the alliance will “further advance Foundation Medicines’ market-leading position in molecular information and genomic analysis, while providing Roche [with] a unique opportunity to optimise the identification and development of novel treatment options for cancer patients”.
Under the terms of the agreement, Roche is committing to R&D funding of potentially more than $150 million for a minimum of five years. Foundation Medicine will contribute its experience in the development of genomic profiling tests for cancer.
The initial focus of the R&D collaboration will be on developing genomic profile tests for cancer immunotherapies and continuous blood-based monitoring.
Foundation Medicine’s pharmaceutical arm could receive a boost from the link-up, as Roche will obtain rights to existing FMI products outside of the US, as well as to future co-developed products.
Daniel O’Day, chief operating officer of Roche Pharma, says the partnership “can bring personalised healthcare in oncology to the next level”.
Dr Michael Pellini, president and chief executive of Foundation Medicine, says the deal “represents significant potential for individuals with cancer around the world”.
“We believe that putting molecular information at the centre of cancer care will help transform the delivery of care for patients and speed the pace of drug discovery and development.
“The structure of our agreement with Roche also allows us to maintain the entrepreneurial spirit at Foundation Medicine and ensures that our business model, network of partnerships and objectives are not altered.”
Meanwhile AstraZeneca announced that its biologics research and development arm MedImmune will enter into a licensing agreement with Omnis Pharmaceuticals, a biotech that focusses on developing cancer-killing viruses.
MedImmune has the license to develop and commercialise successful products from Omnis’s research programme, which is currently includes a Phase I trial as a monotherapy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and other cancers that have metastasised to the liver.
Lilian Anekwe
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