Roche to buy obesity drug developer Carmot for up to $3.1bn

Roche has agreed to buy obesity drug developer Carmot, a privately-owned US company based in California, for up to $3.1bn.

Carmot’s R&D portfolio includes clinical stage subcutaneous and oral incretins with best-in-class potential to treat obesity in patients with and without diabetes, as well as a number of preclinical programs.

Roche said the existing clinical data for Carmot’s assets, especially the lead asset CT-388, "suggests a best-in-class potential to achieve and maintain weight loss with differentiated efficacy".

Roche chief executive Thomas Schinecker said: "Obesity is a heterogeneous disease, which contributes to many other diseases that together comprise a significant health burden worldwide.

"By combining Carmot’s portfolio with programs in our Pharmaceuticals pipeline and our Diagnostics expertise and portfolio of products across cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, we are aiming to improve the standard of care and positively impact patients’ lives."