Promedior announces completion of acquisition by Roche
LEXINGTON, Mass., Feb. 13, 2020 – Promedior, Inc. today announced the successful completion of its previously announced sale to Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY). With this acquisition, Roche obtained full rights to Promedior’s entire portfolio of molecules for serious fibrotic diseases, notably PRM-151. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Roche made an upfront cash payment of USD 390 million, with additional contingent payments of up to USD 1 billion to be made based on the achievement of certain predetermined development, regulatory and commercial milestones.
“We’re excited to announce the close of the Roche acquisition and to join the Roche Group,” said Jason Lettmann, Chief Executive Officer of Promedior and General Partner of Lightstone Ventures. “We look forward to being part of Roche to further advance programs in IPF, hematological cancer and other fibrotic disorders and bring new treatment options to patients within these areas of significant unmet need.”
Promedior, a previously privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Lexington, Massachusetts, has successfully advanced PRM-151 in human clinical trials and received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the FDA in March 2019 for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). PRM-151, a recombinant form of human pentraxin-2 (PTX-2) protein, opens up new opportunities to treat a wide range of systemic fibrotic diseases. Phase 2 trial results demonstrated that PRM-151 is the first molecule to show a slowing of decline in lung function in combination with standard of care (SoC) therapies when compared to SoC alone. PRM-151 has also shown promising early clinical trial data in myelofibrosis (MF) and its anti-fibrotic mechanism has therapeutic potential in other fibrotic diseases.
About PRM-151
PRM-151, Promedior’s lead product candidate, has shown broad anti-fibrotic activity in multiple preclinical models of fibrotic disease, including pulmonary fibrosis, myelofibrosis, acute and chronic nephropathy, liver fibrosis, and age-related macular degeneration. As published in JAMA in 2018, the randomized Phase 2 study in IPF demonstrated that PRM-151 slowed the decline of lung function and stabilized 6-minute walk distance which suggested potential benefit in overall functional decline. The open-label extension data published in Lancet Respiratory Medicine in 2019 further demonstrated evidence of a sustained benefit out to 76 weeks. Positive data from the Phase 2 study in MF highlighted PRM-151’s ability to reduce bone marrow fibrosis and was recently presented at the 2019 European Hematology Association Congress.
About Promedior
Promedior is a clinical stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of targeted therapeutics to treat diseases involving fibrosis. Promedior has successfully advanced its lead therapeutic candidate in human clinical trials and is initially focused on rare fibrotic diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and myelofibrosis. Promedior is backed by leading global healthcare venture investors including Morgenthaler Ventures, HealthCare Ventures, Forbion, Easton Capital, Fibrotec Ventures, and Polaris Partners and has a significant intellectual property estate relating to the discoveries and applications of pentraxin-2 therapeutics. Additional information is available at www.promedior.com.
