Roche announced on June 8 a partnership with Nurix Therapeutics for the co-development of bexobrutideg, an investigational BTK degrader targeting B cell malignancies, in a deal valued at up to $2.3 billion.
Under the agreement, Roche will pay Nurix $700 million upfront and provide additional payments tied to development, regulatory, and sales milestones. The total value of the deal is up to $2.3 billion. Both companies will co-develop and co-commercialize bexobrutideg in the United States, with Roche covering 60% of development costs. Profits and losses from U.S. sales will be split equally between Roche and Nurix, while Roche will take primary responsibility for commercialization outside the U.S., where Nurix may receive royalties ranging from low- to high-teens.
The companies expect to close the transaction in the third quarter of this year. Truist Securities analysts said in a note to investors, "We view the partnership as sensible and validating for [bexobrutideg’s] clinical profile, including its potential safety differentiation." The analysts also said that for Nurix specifically, "the agreement is 'necessary to address a key overhang around the capital intensity and execution risk' that comes with advancing BTK degraders." Following news of the deal, shares of Nurix rose 21% before Monday's market opening.
Bexobrutideg is an orally available protein degrader designed to bind and destroy BTK—a signaling molecule important in B cell growth—by using cellular machinery rather than simply deactivating it. This approach may help overcome treatment resistance associated with other drugs in this class. The partners plan to advance bexobrutideg into Phase 3 trials for chronic lymphocytic leukemia this summer.
The collaboration also includes plans for further clinical development across B-cell malignancies as well as potential applications in immunology and neurology; however, no additional target diseases have been specified yet.
