Roche strikes obesity drug licensing deal worth up to $1.16 billion with Chinese Rona Therapeutics

ZURICH, Oct 13 — Swiss drugmaker Roche entered ​a licensing agreement worth up to $1.16 billion with Rona ‌Therapeutics for its investigational obesity drug candidate, ⁠the Chinese ​biotech firm said ⁠on Tuesday.

Roche has been ‌racing to ‌break into the obesity drug market ⁠dominated by ⁠Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.

• With the deal, Rona Therapeutics is set to receive an upfront payment of $100 million and ‌is eligible ​to receive up to $1.06 billion in potential milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on global net sales.

• The investigational RNAi candidate targets activin receptor-like ​kinase 7 (ALK7), a target ‌for obesity ‌and metabolic ⁠diseases.

• In September, Roche reported positive mid-stage data for its obesity and diabetes candidate enicepatide, ‌which helped patients ​lose weight and ‌lower blood ⁠sugar ​levels.

(Reporting by Marleen KaesebierEditing by Linda ​Pasquini)

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