Good Therapeutics has been scooped up by biopharma giant Roche for $250 million in cash as a key component of the latter’s ambitious plan for boosting its immuno-oncology segment. Seattle-based GT’s preclinical PD-1-regulated IL-2 program, meant to deliver effective IL-2 stimulation of T cells without the limiting toxicity common to unregulated IL-2 therapeutics, will be globally fleshed out and commercialized by the Swiss company, which will absorb the rest of the purchased company’s assets into Bonum Therapeutics, its newest spinout.
“Good Therapeutics showed that the concept and technology—the idea of a shape-shifting protein that changes its activity in response to a signal—works,” said GT Founder and Chief Executive Officer Dr. John Mulligan. With six viable programs boasting preliminary work in the books in the mix, GT is set to fulfill the merger’s full potential, which consists of several development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments. Roche’s Patrick Schleck, the head of oncology and pharma partnering, said the deal is “in line with comparable transactions and reflects both the early nature of the program and its future high potential.”
GT’s 26 employees are set to fall under the newly minted Bonum Therapeutics, with Mulligan retaining his CEO status. This team will be dedicated to developing conditionally active therapeutics for targets falling outside of PD-1-regulated IL-2 in addition to pain management, metabolic disease, and autoimmune disorders.
