Roche is to acquire 89bio Inc of San Francisco, US, to expand its cardiovascular, renal and metabolic disease portfolio with a drug that is being developed for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). MASH (previously called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis) is a liver disease that develops when fat builds up and causes inflammation. Without treatment, it can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Roche is to pay up to $2.4 billion for the company at the closing, but this figure could rise to to £3.5 billion if milestones in the form of contingency value rights held by shareholders are exercised as part of the deal. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
89bio’s lead product, pegozafermin, is a recombinant protein currently in Phase 3 for the treatment of patients with MASH with advanced fibrosis. It is an analogue of fibroblast growth factor 21 which is a hormone that regulates important metabolic pathways. Pegozafermin is a glycopegylated version of the growth factor with an extended half-life, enabling it to increase sensitivity to insulin and reduce fats. In a Phase 2b placebo-controlled trial the drug showed an improvement in fibrosis and no worsening of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, the predecessor to MASH. The trial results were published in The New England Journal of Medicine on 24 June 2023.
MASH is a comorbidity of obesity. In a statement on 18 September, Roche said that the acquisition opens the door to new treatments for overweight, obesity and MASH. It also unlocks opportunities for future combination treatments win incretins, which include glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists.
The acquisition of 89bio comes six months after Roche signed an agreement with Zealand Pharma A/S of Denmark to co-develop a synthetic peptide analogue of amylin, a peptide hormone. The drug, petrelintide, is being developed for obesity.
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