Adheron has agreed to be acquired by Roche.
Under the terms of the agreement, Adheron's shareholders will receive a cash payment of $105 million, plus additional contingent payments of up to $475 million based on achievement of certain milestones.
Adheron has developed a technology that disrupts immune cell adhesion through a cell surface protein called Cadherin-11 in order to develop potential treatments for a variety of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and fibrotic diseases. The lead compound, SDP051, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting Cadherin-11, has completed a Phase I trial.
SDP051 was fully humanized using Abzena’s Composite Human Antibody™ technology.
“We are very excited about this acquisition, as it is an important step towards the development of breakthrough medicines in the area of inflammation and fibrosis,” said Hari Kumar, CEO of Adheron Therapeutics. “This deal brings together Adheron's deep understanding of the underlying science of Cadherin-11 with Roche's vast experience in researching and developing next generation medicines.”
Roche made two acquisitions in August. First, on August 13, it announced plans to acquire GeneWEAVE for up to $425 million, in a deal intended to strengthen its offerings in clinical microbiology diagnostics.
And then, on August 19, it agreed to acquire Kapa Biosystems, which focuses on developing technologies for optimizing enzymes for next-generation sequencing (NGS), as well as for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time PCR applications.
