OMass attracts $420m Roche wager on IBD programme

UK biotech OMass Therapeutics has revealed its first major pharma partnership, with Roche's Genentech unit paying $20 million upfront to tap into its expertise and find small-molecule therapies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

The Oxford-based company stands to receive around $400 million in additional payments if the collaboration develops as the partners hope and drug candidates move through preclinical and clinical development and reach the market.

OMass was set up around a drug discovery platform – called OdyssION – that uses native mass spectrometry that not only detects drug candidates that bind to a molecular target, but also identifies their functional effects.

The platform combines biochemistry, native mass spectrometry, and custom chemistry to investigate protein interactions within a cellular ecosystem, whilst filtering out the "confounding complexity" of other factors in the cell.

The target for the collaboration has not been specifically identified, but is "first-in-class," according to the partners.

OMass – which lists a partnered GPR65 agonist in its pipeline – will lead the initial preclinical development of the programme until a lead candidate has been selected, whereupon Genentech will take over development.

"Using our OdyssION platform, we've been able to make significant progress on this novel first-in-class target with a differentiated mechanism of action in inflammatory bowel disease," said Ros Deegan, OMass' chief executive.

"Genentech brings a strong legacy of innovation in immunology and world-class scientific expertise, making them an ideal partner for this programme," she added.

Roche's pipeline in IBD is currently headed by afimkibart (RG6631), a once-monthly, injectable antibody targeting tumour necrosis factor-like ligand 1A (TL1A) that is in phase 3 testing for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, the two main forms of IBD. It acquired that drug when it acquired Telavant for $7.1 billion two years ago.

Prior to that, Roche did not have much of a heritage in IBD, but has said it is an "emerging area of focus and research" for the group. As IBD is a disease that varies from person to person, will need multiple treatments to deliver personalised care.

"There are nearly eight million people living with IBD who are in need of innovative treatment approaches," said Boris Zaïtra, Roche's head of corporate business development.

"Despite recent advancements, there is still a high unmet medical need, which fuels our commitment to partnering with companies such as OMass Therapeutics focused on innovation to accelerate potentially transformative medicines and advance science."