Future Proofing with Actual Intelligence

 Carmot Therapeutics Inc. (Carmot), a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing life-changing therapeutics for people living with metabolic diseases including obesity and diabetes, today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement for Roche to acquire Carmot at a purchase price of $2.7 billion upfront and the potential for $400 million in milestone payments.

“We are proud of the pipeline that we have built in obesity and diabetes and the strong data we have generated to date,” said Heather Turner, JD, Chief Executive Officer of Carmot. “With distinct routes of administration and the potential for combinations, we feel Carmot’s pipeline has the potential to meet patients where they are in their metabolic journey and have a significant impact on patients’ lives. We are confident that Roche will enable robust development of our programs and help us achieve our goal of delivering life-changing therapeutics for people living with metabolic and potentially other diseases.”

Carmot’s clinical pipeline includes subcutaneous and oral incretins with best-in-class potential to treat obesity in patients with and without diabetes. CT-388 is a weekly injectable, Phase 2 ready, dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist for the treatment of obesity in patients with and without type 2 diabetes. CT-996, currently in Phase 1, is a once-daily oral, small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist intended to treat patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes. CT-868 is a Phase 2, once-daily subcutaneous injectable, dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist intended for the treatment of type 1 diabetes patients with overweight or obesity. Carmot also has preclinical programs in development for the treatment of metabolic diseases.

“The obesity epidemic is a worldwide crisis and only continues to worsen. By 2035 it is estimated that nearly half the world’s population will be overweight or obese1,” said Tim Kutzkey, PhD, Chair of Carmot’s Board of Directors. “A health problem of this magnitude requires significant commitment and resources to address, and we believe that patients will be best served with Carmot’s pipeline backed by the drug development expertise, extensive resources and worldwide reach of Roche.”

Terms of the Agreement

Under the terms of the agreement, Roche will pay Carmot’s equity holders $2.7 billion in cash at the closing of the transaction. Additionally, Carmot’s equity holders are entitled to receive payments of up to $400 million on the achievement of certain milestones. Carmot and its employees will join the Roche Group as part of Roche’s Pharmaceuticals Division.

The transaction is subject to the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and other customary closing conditions. The closing of the transaction is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2024.

Centerview Partners LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are acting as financial advisors and Cooley LLP is acting as legal counsel for Carmot.

About Carmot Therapeutics
Carmot Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing life-changing therapeutics for people living with metabolic diseases, including obesity and diabetes. Carmot’s expertise in metabolic biology has enabled the development of a broad pipeline of therapeutics, including three clinical candidates: CT-388 (once-weekly subcutaneous injectable, dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist), CT-996 (once-daily oral, small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist) and CT-868 (once-daily subcutaneous injectable, dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist) and other molecules in preclinical development. All of these are proprietary novel compounds, wholly owned by Carmot, that have the potential to deliver an enhanced treatment response in people with metabolic diseases. For more information, visit the Carmot Therapeutics website and follow us on LinkedIn.

About Roche
Founded in 1896 in Basel, Switzerland, as one of the first industrial manufacturers of branded medicines, Roche has grown into the world’s largest biotechnology company and the global leader in in-vitro diagnostics. The company pursues scientific excellence to discover and develop medicines and diagnostics for improving and saving the lives of people around the world. Roche is a pioneer in personalised healthcare and wants to further transform how healthcare is delivered to have an even greater impact. To provide the best care for each person Roche partners with many stakeholders and combines its strengths in Diagnostics and Pharma with data insights from its clinical practice.

In recognising its endeavour to pursue a long-term perspective in all we do, Roche has been named one of the most sustainable companies in the pharmaceuticals industry by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the thirteenth consecutive year. This distinction also reflects Roche’s efforts to improve access to healthcare together with local partners in every country it works.

Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.

For more information, please visit www.roche.com.

1 World Obesity Atlas 2023, https://data.worldobesity.org/publications/WOF-Obesity-Atlas-V5.pdf

Carmot Contact:
Kelly Boothe, PhD
Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
kboothe@carmot.us

Carmot Media Contact:
Kelli Perkins
Red House Consulting
kelli@redhousecomms.com

BERKELEY, Calif., December 3, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

download

Targeting the root causes that drive disease and accelerating the identification of disease modifying therapeutics.

Carmot Therapeutics Enters into Definitive Merger Agreement with Roche

220128 Nourish

Nourish has the expertise to solve critical issues in the current plant-based market.  Focusing on the most potent molecules responsible for taste, aroma and mouth-feel, and using science and precision fermentation to recreate these fats, from an animal-free source.  Unlike plant-based fats, Nourish fats behave in the exact same way as animal fats, providing an authentic, natural and animalistic experience.

Not only do Nourish fats reproduce the exact taste of meat, they also create the same natural cooking reaction; the alluring browning, aromas and sizzling that we love from a perfectly cooked steak. Imagine the texture of a juicy roast chicken or the aroma of a succulent beef burger but from plant-based meat.

Nourish Ingredients have the power to make a transformative impact on the alternative protein industry; through their impact on taste, cleaner labels, and reigniting uptake in the market.


Why do we see Nourish as game changers? 

Fermentation is the science and art that’s been bringing humans good things like beer and wine for no less than nine millennia. And what’s the ignition switch for fermentation to make fantastic fats? Yeast. Nourish use proprietary yeast strains to brew entirely animal-free, remarkably delicious fats.


Fermentation is everything 

Jame Petrie - Lab

“The first generation of alternative proteins made waves, mostly with vegans and vegetarians. By overlooking fats, the market has missed the most essential element to the taste experience. That’s where Nourish comes in.”

James Petrie

Using science and precision fermentation to create animal-free fats for the next generation of delicious plant-based food. 

Horizons Ventures led a $45 million round in Series A funding for Nourish Ingredients, an Australian deep tech company creating animal-free fats for the next generation of alternative proteins. This funding is being used to scale production and extend product development. Part of its scaling and R&D plans includes alliances with several leading global institutes, including CSIRO, as well as various universities in Australia and across the world.

A scientific breakthrough

A delicious breakthrough

image2

The team at Cortical Labs has an extraordinary vision based on Karl Friston’s free energy principle: to build technology that harnesses the power of synthetic biology and the full potential of the human brain to develop a new class of AI - one with the fluid intelligence to adapt and problem solve for society’s greatest challenges.

We anticipate that synthetic biology will bring forth the computational power and energy efficiency to lead a revolution in personalized medicine and healthcare.


Why are we so excited by Cortical Labs?

Digital AI models seek to emulate the human brain. Cortical Labs’  model begins with the human brain. Deploying four billion years of neuron evolution to create a biological AI that is capable of growing and adapting at a far faster rate than silicon-based AI.  There are sustainable benefits to DishBrain too - lab-cultivated neurons use far less energy than silicon-based AI.

Why is this different from “conventional” AI?

image1

“The meeting of hybridised AI and synthetic biology unlocks unlimited possibilities. Our technology will shape and drive the next frontier of AI.  This new round of investment should allow us to bring DishBrain to market this year” 

Hon Weng Chong CEO & Founder Cortical Labs.

Producing the world’s first biological computer to study neurological diseases at a personalised level.

Horizons Ventures has led a USD$10 million funding round into Cortical Labs, creators of the DishBrain - a technology that fuses living brain cells onto computing devices to create machines with biological intelligence.

Synthetic biology and the new frontier in AI

Notpla image2

Notpla has a growing portfolio of advanced, all-natural packaging solutions made from seaweed and plants. All their packaging is naturally biodegradable and home-compostable -  just like a piece of fruit.

Each product responds to a specific plastic problem Notpla identified across multiple industries, from electronics, fashion, and cosmetics to food. They  innovate along the manufacturing chain, developing materials, proprietary manufacturing machines, techniques, and novel formats and designs of consumer products.


Making plastic disappear

Most people don’t know that 50% of plastic packaging is used once and thrown away. Notpla biodegrades naturally in 4-6 weeks. No micro-plastics, no waste for centuries. Unlike PLA, it is home compostable and doesn’t contaminate PET recycling.

Notpla only uses naturally occurring materials that have had millions of years to adapt with the rest of the environment. Their films and seaweed paper are great examples of this principle and are the most sustainable solution in their categories. 


Notpla knows that Nature knows best

PW Notpla web

''It is breathtaking to see the advances you are making.''


Making packaging disappear by using seaweed and plants as an alternative to single use plastics.

On December 2, 2022, Prince William and the Earthshot Prize revealed the 2022 Earthshot Prize winners at a globally broadcast ceremony in Boston, Massachusetts. Announced by David Beckham, Notpla won the Earthshot Prize in the category of ‘Build a Waste-Free World”. Founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in 2020, The Earthshot Prize is a £1,000,000 global environmental prize to discover, accelerate and scale ground-breaking eco-solutions to repair and regenerate the planet. 

A prize winning disappearing act

image2 (1)

Juvena is a leading player  working to  unlock the therapeutic potential of stem cell-secreted proteins and accelerate their development into life-saving therapeutics for chronic and age-related diseases. 

Secreted proteins are a proven class of biologics with tremendous therapeutic potential, as they regulate tissue repair and regeneration, organ development, and immune response to disease.

Why did we choose to invent in Juvena?

Juvena’s machine learning-enhanced biologics drug discovery and development platform identifies lead therapeutic candidates from a proprietary pro-regenerative protein library to screen, validate, and engineer into tissue-specific medicines for degenerative diseases.

The library that Juvena is curating is a multi-dimensional map of proteins and their diseases-modifying effects across different organs and indications. Combined with deep learning models, this library allows Juvena to identify and rank therapeutic candidates more cost-effectively and much quicker than traditional methods.


Pioneers in AI driven biologic drug discovery 

JuvenaFounders.cropped

“We are thrilled to scale our platform with this investment and advance the discovery and engineering of novel biologics that reverse the damage people accrue with ageing and chronic, debilitating diseases.”

Unlocking the therapeutic potential of secreted proteins and engineering them into life-saving therapeutics.

Horizons Ventures co-led Juvena Therapeutics’s Series A financing with Mubadala Capital. This $41 Million financing allows the company to accelerate the discovery and development of biologic drugs for chronic, age-related diseases. 