Roche, Atavistik Bio sign drug-discovery deal worth up to $2 billion (updated)

Roche Holding AG

24/09/2026 15:28

Adds Roche comment in third bullet
By Kunal Das
Sept 24 (Reuters) - Atavistik Bio said on Thursday it has signed a deal with Swiss drugmaker Roche ROPC.S potentially worth nearly $2 billion, including milestone payments, to develop oral treatments for cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic diseases.

Here are some details: 
As part of the agreement, drug developer Atavistik will receive $70 million upfront and could get up to $1.9 billion in research, development and commercial milestone payments, plus royalties on sales of approved drugs, the privately held drug developer said.
The partnership covers multiple drug targets and will use Atavistik's proprietary technology to find hidden pockets on disease-causing proteins, potentially allowing drugs to be developed against targets conventional methods have struggled to reach with fewer unintended effects.
Atavistik's ability to work on complex targets made the technology a good fit for Roche's drug-research unit, while potential treatments from the partnership could be used alone or alongside existing therapies to improve patient outcomes, Roche told Reuters.
Atavistik will lead early discovery and research, while Roche will handle further lab and human testing, regulatory filings and commercialization, Atavistik said. 
Atavistik will continue to develop its own treatments for rare blood disorders, including for hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, which causes malformed blood vessels.
The companies did not disclose the number of targets covered by the partnership or provide development timelines.

 (Reporting by Kunal Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
 ((Kunal.Das2@thomsonreuters.com;))