Lodo Therapeutics Corporation has formed a strategic drug discovery collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group.

Under the terms of the agreement, Genentech will utilize Lodo Therapeutics’ proprietary genome mining and biosynthetic cluster assembly platform to identify novel molecules with therapeutic potential against multiple disease-related targets of interest to Genentech. Lodo will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and is eligible to receive research, development and commercialization milestone payments up to $969 million based on achievement of certain predetermined milestones. In addition, Lodo is eligible to receive tiered-royalties on sales of certain products resulting from the collaboration.

“Lodo Therapeutics’ proprietary drug discovery platform is a powerful engine for identifying novel compounds with important therapeutic potential,” said Thong Q. Le, chief executive officer at Lodo Therapeutics and Accelerator Life Science Partners. “We are incredibly excited to work with Genentech, and we look forward to demonstrating the power and utility of Lodo’s unique technology for the benefit of global human health.”

James Sabry, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president and global head of Genentech Partnering, said, “Genentech is committed to accessing innovative technologies and we are excited to collaborate with Lodo Therapeutics to apply their Metagenomics Technology Platform to potentially discover therapeutics for difficult drug targets.”