PureTech out-licenses milk exosomes technology in $1 billion deal

Roche (ROG: SIX) has entered into a multiyear collaboration with PureTech Health (LSE: PRTC) to advance the latter’s milk-derived exosome platform technology for the oral administration of the Swiss pharma giant’s antisense oligonucleotide platform.

PureTech, a UK-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines focused on the Brain-Immune-Gut (BIG) Axis, saw its shares gain as much as 9.15% to 155.00 pence on the news this morning.

The companies are aiming to take advantage of the way milk is designed by nature to transport essential molecules between mother and offspring. This makes it a potentially effective vehicle for oral medicines which would otherwise break down in the stomach.