Clinical-stage precision oncology company Repare Therapeutics Inc. (RPTX:NASDAQ), yesterday announced "it has entered into a worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Roche Holding AG (RHHBY:OTCQX) for the development and commercialization of camonsertib (RP-3500), a potent and selective oral small molecule inhibitor of ATR (Ataxia-Telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein kinase) for the treatment of tumors with specific synthetic-lethal genomic alterations including those in the ATM gene (Ataxia-Telangiectasia mutated kinase)."
The partnering agreement signed by the two firms specifies that Roche will assume the responsibility for developing camonsertib and potentially expand development for use in treating additional tumors and multiple combination therapy studies.
Under the terms outlined in the worldwide licensing and collaboration agreement, Repare Therapeutics is to receive an immediate upfront payment of $125 million. In addition, Repare will be eligible to receive up to another $1.2 billion in payments when certain specific clinical, regulatory and commercialization, and sales milestones are met. These milestones include potential near-term payments totaling $55 million and future global sales royalties in the high-single-digits to high-teens range. Repare noted that under the agreement terms, it maintains the option at its own choosing to co-develop camonsertib (RP-3500) in the U.S. on a 50/50 expense and profit share basis with Roche.
Repare Therapeutics' EVP and Head of Business and Corporate Development Kim Seth, Ph.D. commented, "Camonsertib has the potential to help cancer patients across numerous solid tumors as a monotherapy and possibly in combination with other agents."
"Given the encouraging data Repare has generated for camonsertib as a potentially best-in-class ATR inhibitor with a promising tolerability profile and patient selection insights in areas of high unmet medical need, and Roche's leading global footprint and unique expertise in precision oncology, we are confident that Roche is the ideal partner for us to drive the broad global development and commercialization of camonsertib," Seth added.
Roche Holding's Global Head of Pharma Partnering James Sabry, M.D., Ph.D. remarked, "Roche is excited about the emerging DNA damage response field, which represents a promising new approach to precision oncology…We are looking forward to partnering with Repare Therapeutics to further develop camonsertib as a new potential treatment option for patients with significant unmet medical needs across a range of tumor types."
The company advised that the transaction remains subject to ordinary closing conditions and regulatory approval and waiting periods under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.
The company mentioned that "its SNIPRx® Platform is a genome-wide CRISPR-based screening approach that utilizes proprietary isogenic cell lines to identify novel and known synthetic lethal gene pairs and the corresponding patients who are most likely to benefit from the company's therapies based on the genetic profile of their tumors." The firm noted that with its proprietary platform, it can identify a patient's specific genomic alterations and create and deliver precision therapeutics that selectively target a patient's tumor(s) with treatment that offers the highest probability of achieving positive clinical results.
Roche AG is a leading research-based healthcare company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. The company has a market cap of about $214 billion and is one of the world's largest biotech companies and is also known for being a leading provider of in-vitro diagnostics and a global supplier of transformative innovative medical solutions across several major disease areas. The firm operates through two primary business divisions, pharmaceuticals, and diagnostics.
Repare Therapeutics is a clinical-stage precision oncology company based in Montreal, Quebec. The firm stated that it employs its own proprietary synthetic lethality (SL) approach in its efforts to discover and develop novel therapeutics to fight cancer. The firm explained that "it utilizes its genome-wide, CRISPR-enabled SNIPRx® platform to systematically discover and develop highly targeted cancer therapies focused on genomic instability, including DNA damage repair." The company's lead product candidate camonsertib (RP-3500) is an Ataxia-Telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) small molecule inhibitor that is presently being evaluated in Phase 1/2 clinical trials. In addition, the firm has a second candidate called RP-6306, which it said is a PKMYT1 inhibitor that is now being studied in a Phase 1 clinical trial.
Repare Therapeutics began the day with a market cap of around $366.6 million with approximately 41.9 million shares outstanding and a short interest of about 4.7%. RPTX shares opened 25% higher today at $10.97 (+$2.22, +25.37%) over yesterday's $8.75 closing price. The stock has traded today between $10.68 and $13.70 per share and is currently trading at $13.52 (+$4.77, +54.51%).
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