Roche signs up to $1.16 billion deal for Chinese obesity RNAi therapy

Roche announced an exclusive worldwide license for an experimental obesity treatment developed by China's Rona Therapeutics, with total potential payments of $1.16 billion. Rona will receive up to $100 million in upfront and near-term fees, while a further $1.06 billion is tied to the drug achieving specific development, regulatory and commercial thresholds, plus tiered royalties on sales. The candidate is an RNAi therapy that silences the ALK7 protein, predominantly expressed in adipose tissue, and is designed to reduce visceral and other fat without losing lean mass, either alone or with incretin-based drugs from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.

Stella Shi, founder and CEO of Rona, highlighted the collaboration as a blend of Rona’s pioneering platform and Roche’s global commercialization strength. Boris L. Zaïtra of Roche said the deal adds a new mechanism to its obesity pipeline, which already includes mid-stage results for enicepatide and prior acquisitions such as Carmot Therapeutics. Other firms, including Arrowhead, Alnylam, GSK and Novo Nordisk, are also pursuing ALK7 targets, underscoring intense competition in the weight-loss market.