Roche Allocates $100 Million in Structure Licensing Pact to Bolster GLP-1 Standpoint

Roche is making a calculated step to safeguard its obesity drug lineup from possible future legal battles over patents by shelling out $100 million for a license from Structure Therapeutics.

This arrangement provides Roche and its affiliate Genentech with a nonexclusive permit to use specific patents tied to CT-996, the oral GLP-1 treatment obtained through Roche's $2.7 billion acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics. In addition to the upfront $100 million, the company will owe Structure's branch, Gasherbrum Bio, royalties in the single digits on net sales of products linked to CT-996 going forward.

The contract was finalized on December 30 and revealed by Structure in a regulatory submission on January 5.

Patent Details and Motivations

No details about the exact patents involved appear in the disclosure. It's conceivable that Structure holds intellectual property that might challenge CT-996 or similar compounds, which could have driven Roche to pursue this agreement.

According to Structure, it was Roche that approached them regarding the licensing option. Analysts from Leerink Partners noted in a Monday briefing that this could assist the Swiss pharmaceutical giant in steering clear of potential patent disputes.

Connections to Other GLP-1 Developments

CT-996 utilizes the identical chemical framework as danuglipron, Pfizer's oral GLP-1 candidate discontinued last spring due to a case of suspected drug-related liver damage in one participant. However, Roche's license bears no relation to Structure's proprietary oral GLP-1 receptor activator, aleniglipron, as stated by the firm.

The Leerink analysts remarked that Roche's agreement bolsters Structure executives' belief in possessing the most comprehensive and robust worldwide intellectual property suite for GLP-1 receptor agonist small molecules.

Roche's Obesity Aspirations

Roche aims to climb to the top three in obesity treatment with a collection of recently obtained assets, such as CT-996, following its entry into weight management via the Carmot takeover. The primary asset from that deal, a weekly injectable GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist known as CT-388, has advanced to phase 3 trials.

In 2024, CT-996 unveiled preliminary data, demonstrating a placebo-adjusted weight drop of 6.1% after four weeks among obese individuals without Type 2 diabetes.

Health tracking apps like Shotlee can help monitor weight loss progress in such trials.

Moreover, under a prospective $5.3 billion partnership, Roche is teaming up with Zealand Pharma on its extended-release amylin analog petrelintide. The agreement features a provision where Zealand compensates Roche for a combined formulation of petrelintide and CT-388.

Structure's Progress with Aleniglipron

Structure, based in San Francisco, recently announced a 11.3% placebo-adjusted weight reduction from a 120-mg dose of aleniglipron in a phase 2b trial over 36 weeks. Leerink experts observed that this 120-mg dose matched the effectiveness of Eli Lilly's upcoming oral GLP-1 drug orforglipron at its peak 36-mg level. Structure's compound hinted at superior results at elevated doses, though side effects seemed to intensify. Consequently, the biotech is preparing for a phase 3 study.

These encouraging midstage outcomes sparked merger and acquisition rumors toward the end of last year.

'We anticipate Structure might collaborate on aleniglipron, yet there could be strategic appetite to buy the company, potentially boosting the stock beyond our valuation,' Leerink analysts stated in a December 11 report.

However, with this patent licensing arrangement, it seems Roche has no plans for a full acquisition of Structure.