Roche enters the fight against obesity with a billion-dollar acquisition. The Swiss pharmaceutical company will acquire US company Carmot Therapeutics for $2.7 billion, as announced on Monday. Additionally, milestone payments of up to $400 million can be made.

Carmot Therapeutics, a privately held company, has a promising pipeline of candidates for the treatment of obesity in patients with and without diabetes. This makes the acquisition extremely attractive for Roche, as the Swiss company will gain access to a diversified portfolio of incretins, small protein building blocks that, for example, influence hunger.

One of these promising candidates, CT-388, is a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist being used in Phase II of development. It is injected subcutaneously once a week and has the potential to improve weight loss both as monotherapy and in combination with other medications. Further applications are also to be explored in the future.

Another candidate, CT-996, is a unique GLP-1 receptor agonist that is taken orally on a daily basis. It also has the potential to be effective in treating obesity in patients with and without type 2 diabetes, and is currently in Phase I of research. This novel drug has already made headlines at other pharmaceutical companies such as Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

The third candidate, CT-868, is intended for daily subcutaneous administration and is also a GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist. It is currently in a phase II study for the treatment of overweight or obese type 1 diabetes patients. These innovative substances belong to the so-called incretins, which are intestinal hormones that play an important role in regulating blood sugar levels. They stimulate insulin secretion and suppress appetite.

The acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics has also had a positive impact on Roche's stock, which temporarily rose by 1.88 percent to 244.10 Swiss francs. Investors have high hopes for the company's new candidates, which are promising in the fight against obesity and diabetes.

Roche has once again proven that it is capable of expanding its portfolio and creating innovative treatment options for patients through strategic acquisitions. The acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics is another step in this direction and a major success for the Swiss pharmaceutical company.