OMass Therapeutics partners with Genentech to Develop and Commercialise Therapies for Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Collaboration leverages OMass’ OdyssIONTM platform for the continued development of oral small molecules against a first-in-class target in inflammatory bowel disease
- OMass to receive $20 million upfront payment, with potential for more than $400 million in additional milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on net sales
ARC Oxford based OMass Therapeutics (‘OMass’), a biotechnology company identifying medicines against highly validated target ecosystems such as membrane proteins or intracellular complexes, has entered into an exclusive collaboration and license agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, for the rights to develop and commercialise OMass’ preclinical oral small molecule program for inflammatory bowel disease.
“Using our OdyssIONTM 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, CEO of OMass Therapeutics. “Genentech brings a strong legacy of innovation in immunology and world class expertise, making them an ideal partner for this program. We are delighted to be partnering with them and build on the progress we have made to date.”
“There are nearly eight million people living with IBD who are in need of innovative treatment approaches”, said Boris L. Zaitra, Head of Roche 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.”
Under the terms of the agreement, OMass will receive an upfront payment of $20 million, plus additional potential preclinical, development, commercial and net sales milestone payments of more the $400 million. Under the collaboration, OMass will lead the initial preclinical development of the program until candidate selection. Genentech will be responsible for clinical development, regulatory activities, manufacturing and commercialisation.
Founded in 2016, Oxford University Spin-out OMass is the result of a lifetime of scientific research by founder, Oxford University Professor Dam Carol Robinson. In 2023, the company moved to ARC Oxford into a 16,500 sq.ft purpose built space with structural biology lab, chemistry lab, and larger cold room providing the team much more space to work.
