Roche and COUR Pharmaceuticals Collaborate on Autoimmune Disease Treatment in Deal Worth Over $900 Million

Partnership:
Roche's Genentech has entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement with COUR Pharmaceuticals to develop and commercialize treatments for an undisclosed autoimmune disease12.

Financial Terms:
COUR will receive $40 million upfront and in near-term milestone payments, with potential development, commercial, and net sales milestone payments exceeding $900 million, plus tiered royalties12.

Responsibilities:
COUR will handle preclinical development and technical transfer of manufacturing, while Genentech will oversee clinical development, regulatory filing, and commercialization12.

Platform Technology:
COUR's proprietary antigen-specific immune tolerance platform is designed to reprogram the immune system to address the underlying root cause of immune-mediated diseases12.

Previous Funding:
COUR secured $105 million in a series A round in January 2024, co-led by Lumira Ventures and Alpha Wave Ventures, with participation from Roche Venture Fund, Pfizer, and Bristol Myers Squibb34.

Other Partnerships:
COUR is also partnered with Takeda on a celiac disease treatment and had previously partnered with Ironwood Pharmaceuticals on a primary biliary cholangitis asset, which was discontinued due to disappointing Phase II data14.

Sources:

1. https://www.biospace.com/business/roche-partners-with-cour-in-autoimmune-deal-potentially-worth-more-than-900m

2. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/12/03/2990410/0/en/COUR-Pharmaceuticals-Enters-Collaboration-and-Licensing-Agreement-with-Genentech-to-Develop-and-Commercialize-Tolerogenic-Therapy-for-the-Treatment-of-an-Autoimmune-Disease.html

3. https://www.lumiraventures.com/cour-pharmaceuticals-secures-105-million-in-series-a-financing-co-led-by-lumira-ventures-and-alpha-wave-ventures/

4. https://cen.acs.org/business/start-ups/Roche-Pfizer-Bristol-Myers-back/102/web/2024/01