Roche will pay Idorsia an upfront payment of 15 million Swiss francs, according to an Idorsia statement. It will have the option to exclusively license Idorsia compounds and compounds resulting from the collaboration for a further payment of 35 million francs. Idorsia will be eligible to receive milestone payments of up to 410 million francs.
Idorsia’s new class of compounds have the potential to open up new approaches in the field of cancer immunotherapy.
“The preclinical data we have generated leads us to believe that our approach can translate into significant therapeutic benefits for patients,” said Martine Clozel, Chief Scientific Officer of Idorsia. “By joining forces, we are combining our advanced drug discovery program together with the cancer immunotherapy expertise of Roche. I am looking forward to the collaboration with our partner to leverage our research and bring compounds through clinical development as soon as possible.”
The two companies are forming a joint committee, chaired by Idorsia, to forward the research collaboration.
