Roche said Monday it will spend up to $3.1 billion to acquire Carmot Therapeutics, a biotech firm developing obesity drugs. Roche stock gained on the news.
The deal will give Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche access to the Carmot's research and development portfolio. That includes clinical-stage subcutaneous and oral incretins with the potential to treat obesity in patients with and without diabetes, Roche said.
"The broad Carmot portfolio offers different routes of administration and opportunities to develop combination therapies that treat obesity and potentially other indications," Levi Garraway, Roche's chief medical officer and head of global product development, said in the news release.
On the stock market today, U.S.-listed Roche stock gained 3.1% to close at 35.42.
Roche Stock: Targeting Fast-Growing Market
The private Berkeley, Calif.-based Carmot's portfolio of agonists includes two subcutaneous injections obesity therapies currently in Phase 2 trials. Further, a once-daily oral GLP-1 receptor is in a Phase 1 trail, according to Roche's announcement.
Carmot shareholders will receive $2.7 billion in cash for the company. The deal also includes milestone payments of up to $400 million. Carmot's 70 employees will join Roche, according to the announcement.
Further, Roche said the company expects the deal to close in the first quarter of next year.
Meanwhile, the deal makes Roche the latest company to target a fast-growing weight-loss and obesity drug market. The market is led by Novo Nordisk and its GLP-1 drug Ozempic, as well as Eli Lilly and its drug, Mounjaro.
Additionally, Pfizer stock fell Friday on a setback for its attempt to develop a weight-loss drug.
Roche stock has lost about 10% this year. Further, shares are trading below their 200-day moving average, according to MarketSmith.
