Roche and Isis Pharma in up to $392 million deal on Huntington's research

Swiss drug major Roche (ROG: SIX) and USA-based Isis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ISIS) have formed an alliance to develop treatments for Huntington's disease (HD) based on the latter's antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology.

Under the terms of the deal, Roche will pay an upfront of $30 million to Isis, with total payments related to license fee and pre- and post-licensing milestones reaching potentially $362 million, including up to $80 million in potential commercial milestone payments. In addition, Isis will receive tiered royalties on sales of the drugs. Isis shares rose 2.4% to $17.75 in morning trading while Roche edged less than 1% higher to 216.40 Swiss francs in mid-afternoon trading in Zurich.

This alliance combines Isis' antisense expertise with Roche's scientific expertise in developing neurodegenerative therapeutics. In addition, Isis and Roche will be collaborating to combine Isis' ASOs and Roche's proprietary "brain shuttle" program with the objective of increasing the brain penetration of ASOs with systemic administration.