Roche has signed up for access to Vividion Therapeutics' proteomics screening platform and proprietary small molecule library to target E3 ligases and a range of oncology and immunology therapeutic targets.

The exclusive worldwide option and license agreement gives Roche the exclusive right to license any compounds arising from Vividion's drug discovery and preclinical development for selected programmes.

For a subset of these programmes Vividion has the right to carry out clinical development up to proof-of-concept with the option to share development costs and split US profits and losses with Roche.

In return, the US biotech will receive $135 million in a cash upfront payment from Roche but could receive several billion dollars in payments based on the achievement of preclinical, development and commercial milestones, as well as royalties on sales of commercialised products resulting from the collaboration.

“Our proprietary platform has demonstrated the ability to identify molecules that can drug challenging protein classes, such as transcription factors, adaptor proteins, and E3 ligases,” stated

Dr Fred Aslan, president and chief business officer of Vividion. “We look forward to discovering new therapies with Roche while simultaneously advancing our wholly owned pipeline.”

“Partnering is a cornerstone of Roche’s research strategy to transform novel ideas into medicines. We are excited about Vividion’s approach to small molecule discovery and are looking forward to working with their team to discover potential new medicines for patients with cancer and immunological diseases,” said James Sabry, global head of Roche Pharma Partnering.