Roche announced it will acquire Carmot Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company specializing in transformative therapies for metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes.
The definitive merger agreement entails an upfront purchase price of $2.7 billion, coupled with the potential for an additional $400 million in milestone payments.
California-based Carmot's clinical pipeline includes candidates such as CT-388, a phase 2 ready, weekly injectable dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist for obesity; CT-996, a phase 1 oral small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist targeting obesity and type 2 diabetes; and CT-868, a phase 2 subcutaneous injectable for type 1 diabetes patients with overweight or obesity. The company also has preclinical programs in development for metabolic diseases.
With the deal, Roche will enter a thriving obesity market projected to hit $100 billion in sales by 2030. Incretin mimetic drugs, initially developed for type 2 diabetes, have seen unprecedented growth in the obesity space with demand surging for Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's recently-approved Zepbound.