Roche in up to $580 million deal to acquire Adheron Therapeutics

Privately held biotechnology US biotech firm Adheron Therapeutics has agreed to be acquired by Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX) in a deal worth a potential $580 million.

Adheron Therapeutics has developed a pioneering 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 asset, SDP051, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting Cadherin-11, has completed Phase I of clinical development.

The acquisition adds to a much larger one last year, when Roche expended $8.3 billion to buy of InterMune and its Esbriet (pirfenidone), which is approved for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (The Pharma Letter August 25, 2014). In the rheumatoid arthritis setting, Roche has its blockbuster drugs Rituxan (rituximab) and Actemra/RoActemra (tocilizumab), as well as new candidates in its pipeline.