PureTech Health has entered into a multiyear collaboration with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., to advance PureTech’s milk-derived exosome platform technology for the oral administration of Roche’s antisense oligonucleotide platform. Under the terms of the agreement, PureTech Health will receive up to $36 million, including upfront payments, research support, and early preclinical milestones. PureTech Health will be eligible to potentially receive development milestone payments of over $1 billion and additional sales milestones and royalties for an undisclosed number of products.
PureTech’s milk exosome-based technology is uniquely designed to facilitate the oral administration of complex payloads such as nucleic acids, peptides, and small molecules. These exosomes are believed to traffic via lymphatic circulation and could potentially enable the targeting of immune cells in novel ways.
“We are excited to accelerate the development of this promising technology from our internal lymphatic and immune cell trafficking programs,” Daphne Zohar, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of PureTech Health, said. “The expertise and resources that Roche is bringing to the collaboration will help us to potentially address one of the biggest challenges in oligonucleotide-based therapeutic development: oral administration of nucleic acids.”