Roche has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Promedior, Inc. in a transaction valued at $1.39 billion. Roche will obtain full rights to Promedior’s entire portfolio of molecules for serious fibrotic diseases, notably PRM-151.

Promedior, a privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Lexington, MA, has successfully advanced PRM-151 in human clinical trials and received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the FDA earlier this year for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
 
PRM-151, a recombinant form of human pentraxin-2 (PTX-2) protein, has demonstrated both prevention and reversal of fibrosis and opens up new opportunities to treat a wide range of systemic fibrotic diseases. Phase II trial results demonstrated that PRM-151 is the first molecule to show significant lung function improvements on top of current therapies in IPF. PRM-151 has also shown promising early clinical trial data in myelofibrosis (MF) and its anti-fibrotic mechanism has therapeutic potential in other fibrotic diseases.
 
Jason Lettmann, chief executive officer of Promedior and General Partner of Lightstone Ventures, said, “With over a decade of research, development and investment, Promedior has demonstrated the unique ability of its pentraxin-2 platform to deliver disease-modifying potential in fibrotic disorders. Due to Roche’s strong expertise in IPF, hematological cancer and other fibrotic disorders, we believe Roche is ideally positioned to bring the potential of our platform to patients and provide new treatment options within these areas of urgent unmet medical need.”
 
“We are excited to combine Promedior’s portfolio with our drug development capabilities to further advance PRM-151 in fibrotic diseases, including IPF and MF,” said James Sabry, M.D., Ph.D., global head of Roche Pharma Partnering. “With our proven track record in IPF with Esbriet as well as in hematological cancers, we are well-positioned to leverage our clinical and commercial expertise to bring PRM-151 to patients as fast as possible.”