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BERKELEY, Calif., Jan. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Carmot Therapeutics Inc. (Carmot), a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing life-changing therapeutics for people living with metabolic diseases including obesity and diabetes, today announced that its acquisition by the Roche Group (Roche) has been completed.
Having successfully completed its acquisition of Carmot, Roche obtains access to Carmot’s current R&D portfolio including all clinical and pre-clinical assets, as well as exclusive access to Carmot’s innovative Chemotype Evolution discovery platform in metabolism, further strengthening Roche’s R&D efforts and portfolio across cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Carmot and its employees will join the Roche Group as part of Roche’s Pharmaceuticals Division.
The acquisition gives Roche access to Carmot’s differentiated portfolio of incretins including:
- CT-388, the lead asset, is a Phase-2 ready, dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist for the treatment of obesity in patients with and without type 2 diabetes. Injected subcutaneously once a week, it has potential as a standalone and combination therapy to improve weight loss and to be expanded to other indications.
- CT-996, a once-daily oral, small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist currently in Phase-1 intended to treat obesity in patients with and without type 2 diabetes.
- CT-868, a Phase-2, once-daily subcutaneous injectable, dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist intended for the treatment of type 1 diabetes patients with overweight or obesity.
Financial Considerations
Roche has acquired all outstanding shares and options of Carmot at a purchase price of $2.7 billion. Carmot’s equity holders are additionally entitled to receive payments of up to $400 million depending on the achievement of certain milestones.
About Obesity
Obesity is one of the most pervasive health challenges in the world and an area where recent scientific advances can help meet the high unmet medical need. This condition is associated with many health challenges and comorbidities, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, fatty liver, and chronic kidney disease, which together place an incredible strain on healthcare systems worldwide. Over 4 billion people are estimated to be obese or overweight by 2035, approaching 50% of the world’s population.1
Scientific advances in the field of incretins and an increased understanding of relevant disease biology have significantly changed the possibilities to treat obesity over the last years. Incretins are gut hormones that are secreted after food intake and play a role in modulating blood glucose by stimulating insulin secretion. Emerging scientific data show a wider biologic effect of incretins in multiple organs including the liver, heart and brain, suggesting they may have broader roles in the body. Incretins are clinically validated targets and the emerging standard of care therapies in obesity and could also be effective targets in other disease areas.
About Carmot Therapeutics
Carmot Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing life-changing therapeutics for people living with metabolic diseases, including obesity and diabetes. Carmot’s expertise in metabolic biology has enabled the development of a broad pipeline of therapeutics, including three clinical candidates: CT-388 (once-weekly subcutaneous injectable, dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist), CT-996 (once-daily oral, small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist) and CT-868 (once-daily subcutaneous injectable, dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist) and other molecules in preclinical development. All of these are proprietary novel compounds, wholly owned by Carmot, that have the potential to deliver an enhanced treatment response in people with metabolic diseases. For more information, visit the Carmot Therapeutics website.
References
1 World Obesity Atlas 2023, https://data.worldobesity.org/publications/WOF-Obesity-Atlas-V5.pdf
