The two companies will partner on research activities up to the selection of a pre-clinical candidate, after which Roche will take responsibility for further development and global commercialization.

Under the terms of the deal, Lead Pharma will receive an upfront payment of €10 million and will also be eligible to receive research funding and pre-clinical milestone payments. Total potential payments could add up to €260 million, plus royalties on worldwide sales.

“This is the second project we partner with one of the largest pharmaceutical companies under our Discover, Design and Deliver platform,” said Lead Pharma’s chief scientific officer, Arthur Oubrie. “Our rigorous target selection process, translational screening cascade, and smart medicinal chemistry have been essential to bring this project to this stage. We are keen to collaborate with our colleagues at Roche to bring this novel approach to patients.”

There are hundreds of immune-mediated disorders, including joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, skin diseases such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, and inflammatory bowel diseases. Symptoms range from mild skin rashes to severe organ failure and death.

Lead Pharma, a spinoff from the Hubrecht Institute and the University Medical Center Utrecht, is also collaborating with French pharma Sanofi under an agreement signed in February 2015. Under this collaboration, the companies are aiming to discover, develop and commercialize small molecules directed against the nuclear hormone receptor ROR gamma (t) for treating various autoimmune disorders, including psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist