Genentech buys Regor's CDK inhibitors for $850m upfront

Roche's Genentech has decided to invest $850 million upfront to acquire Regor Pharmaceuticals' portfolio of innovative CDK inhibitors for breast cancer treatment. According to the definitive purchase agreement, Genentech will take charge of global clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization. Meanwhile, Regor will continue to oversee the completion of two ongoing phase 1 trials.

Apart from the initial payment, Regor is set to receive additional cash compensations upon reaching specific development, regulatory, and commercial milestones. Regor's founder and CEO, Xiayang Qiu, expressed confidence in Genentech's ability to realize the full potential of these new therapies, which are aimed at benefiting breast cancer patients globally. He also highlighted the impressive data generated so far.

Breast cancer remains the most prevalent cancer in the UK, with around 56,800 new cases identified annually. Last December, Regor reported promising outcomes from a phase 1a trial of its next-generation CDK4 inhibitor, RGT-419B. The drug candidate demonstrated safety and tolerance among 12 patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, who had previously progressed on CDK4/6 inhibitors and endocrine therapy. Additionally, RGT-419B showed efficacy as a single agent.

At the time of the announcement, Qiu emphasized the potential of RGT-419B to be a best-in-class treatment either as a standalone therapy or in combination with other treatments for HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer patients resistant to CDK4/6 inhibitors. Clinical trials focusing on single-agent dose expansion and the combination of RGT-419B with endocrine therapy are currently in progress.

This acquisition follows less than two months after Genentech entered into a licensing agreement exceeding $1.9 million with Sangamo Therapeutics. This deal aims to develop intravenously-administered genomic medicines for neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, in January, Genentech also initiated a multi-year collaboration and licensing agreement with GenEdit, worth up to $644 million. This partnership focuses on discovering and developing novel nanoparticles to deliver genetic medicines for autoimmune diseases.