HQ Team
September 30, 2024: Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, will acquire a portfolio of CDK inhibitors to treat breast cancer from Regor Pharmaceuticals for an upfront payment of $850 million.
CDK inhibitors, or cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, are a class of drugs that can potentially treat cancer by blocking the activity of kinases, which are enzymes that regulate cell cycle progression.
Regor is eligible to receive additional cash payments based on the achievement of certain predetermined development, regulatory and commercial milestones, according to a statement.
Genentech will be responsible for clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization worldwide. Regor will continue to manage the two ongoing Phase 1 trials to their completion.
‘Well-positioned’
Regor will also advance its other distinct assets, unrelated to this deal, in oncology, metabolic diseases and auto-immunity.
“Genentech is well-positioned to bring these novel therapeutics to their full potential to benefit patients with breast cancer around the world,” said Xiayang Qiu, PhD, founder and CEO of Regor.
“We are proud of the strong data we have generated to date.”
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024.
In December last year, Regor announced results from an early trial showing that the drug was safe and well tolerated in patients with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer who have progressed on CDK4/6 inhibitors and endocrine therapy.
BofA Securities, Inc. is acting as the exclusive financial advisor to Regor on this transaction, and Cohen, Tauber Spievack & Wagner PC and DLA Piper are its legal advisors.
670,000 global deaths
In 2022, there were 2.3 million women diagnosed with breast cancer and 670,000 deaths globally. Breast cancer occurs in every country of the world in women at any age after puberty but with increasing rates in later life, according to the World Health Organization.
Global estimates reveal striking inequities in the breast cancer burden according to human development. For instance, in countries with a very high Human Development Index, one in 12 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and one in 71 women die of it.
