Allan Price

Roche just bet $420M on a small UK biotech - no products, no human trial data. Just ONE platform that convinced them. Here’s why this move signals the future of drug development: First, the context. Roche is valued at nearly $200B. It generated $66B in revenue last year and is a global leader in immunology. In 2023, it paid $7.1B upfront for a late-stage bowel disease drug. On Sept 2, Roche’s Genentech unit licensed a preclinical program from Omass Therapeutics: $20M upfront. Up to $400M in milestones. Tiered royalties if commercialized. For a drug that hasn’t entered human trials. So why? Because Roche isn’t just buying a drug. It’s buying access to OdyssION, Omass’ discovery engine, a platform designed to study proteins in their native ecosystem. That means higher fidelity and fewer dead-end programs. This matters most in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): Nearly 8M people worldwide live with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Even with TL1A antibodies dominating headlines (AbbVie, Merck, Pfizer), the unmet need is still massive. Roche wants multiple shots on goal. Look at the portfolio play: • Afimkibart (anti-TL1A) → Phase 3 blockbuster bet • Omass program → early-stage option with a differentiated mechanism This isn’t random. It’s hedging across timelines and science. For Omass, this is validation. Founded in 2016 from Oxford research, it built tech that retains protein interactions inside the mass spectrometer, a notoriously tricky feat. Now Genentech has endorsed it with a deal worth up to $420M. Here's the thing: This is how modern pharma constructs franchises: Not just buying winners, but layering early-stage platforms that expand optionality. It’s less about chasing hype, more about building risk-balanced portfolios. Here's the lesson for biotech leaders: Modern pharma isn’t chasing single winners. It’s building risk-balanced portfolios by layering early-stage platforms. Not hype-chasing, future-proofing. You don’t need Phase 3 data to land transformative deals. If your platform solves a discovery bottleneck: fidelity, precision, delivery, Big Pharma will pay. Omass just proved it. 3 takeaways from this deal: • Platform > single product • Hedge across timelines, not just assets • Optionality is now strategic currency And Roche is showing how to build a franchise that lasts. Biotech deal flow and market trends are complex, but approachable with the right guidance. At Kybora.com, we support leaders navigating these challenges with authentic, insightful content. Follow me for more on biotech M&A, market shifts, & strategy.

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40% more drugs at 60% of the cost - that's what serious investors in pharmaceutical companies believe AI can deliver for our industry. But how do we get there? This week, at our Business Insights & Technology (BI&T) Quarterly Town Hall, we explored three critical questions: What's driving the AI frenzy in life sciences? What have we learned from our own three-year journey? And how must our profession evolve to stay relevant? We broke the conversation into three parts: 1. Why so much energy around AI in life sciences? The transformation is already underway: faster discovery of targets, more efficient clinical trials, higher reliability in manufacturing, and better patient engagement. Analysts forecast that AI could enable 40% more drugs at 60% of the cost - and so while pilots and proof of concepts are useful, they are singles and doubles in a game where home runs are expected 2. What actually moves the needle - lessons from three years in. Our AI journey has taught us what works: - Layer AI onto reimagined processes, not old ones - Lead with product to build "AI-powered race cars," not faster horses - Connect top-down vision with bottom-up needs - workforce productivity and enterprise transformation will not align spontaneously; we must be a cause in the matter of aligning it - Keep decision-making teams small and focused (see: the Ringelmann effect - too many cooks spoil the broth) 3. Reinventing IT in the age of AI. Every decade, enterprise technology must reinvent itself. This is one of those moments. The shifts ahead include: - From translators → product leaders (as business users gain AI tools to build directly) - From consumers → creators of advantage (extending technology uniquely rather than just buying what's off the shelf) - From fragmented processes run by people → enablers of self-improving processes (AI-native by default) - From change as a project → change as a daily capability For decades, IT organizations had two things: scale and skill. We were an internal monopoly. In the era of vibe coding, this monopoly is coming to an end. We have to lead, not gatekeep. The future won't wait. As AI democratizes technology, IT functions must choose: be reactive and widen the gap, or be proactive and narrow the gap. At BMS, we're committed to the latter by: 1) Equipping our workforce with state-of-the-art AI tools to allow them to self-explore, 2) Empowering and upskilling our workforce through AI literacy programs which tens of thousands of employees have already completed, and 3) Concentrating efforts on functional applications of AI that can make a material difference to the company. We stand at a unique intersection: the opportunity to do the most meaningful work of our careers while defining what the future of our profession will be.

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𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗮 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆—𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 Takeda just announced they’re ending all ex vivo cell therapy work as part of a strategic portfolio shift. It’s easy to read this as a death knell for the modality. But history tells a different story. Promising modalities don’t die—they hibernate. Builders keep iterating through the quiet periods. Then, when the science catches up, pharma rushes back in. We’ve seen this pattern before:  • 𝗔𝗗𝗖𝘀 — Largely abandoned after early toxicity failures. Revived through better linkers, novel payloads, and smarter patient selection. Now a cornerstone of oncology.  • 𝗥𝗡𝗔 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 — Stalled for years due to delivery challenges. Rescued by breakthroughs in siRNA and antisense chemistry. Now foundational to drug discovery.  • 𝗺𝗥𝗡𝗔 — Dismissed as too unstable and impractical. COVID vaccines changed everything overnight. Now every major pharma has an mRNA program. Ex vivo cell therapies might be in their “winter” phase. The challenges—complex manufacturing, hostile tumor microenvironments, limited persistence—are real but not insurmountable. The next wave is already forming: automated manufacturing platforms, multiplex genome editing, novel conditioning regimens, off-the-shelf products, and TME-resistant designs. If you’re building in cell therapy right now, you’re exactly where the winners were during past troughs. When the breakthrough arrives—and it will—pharma will flood back in, just like they always do. The question isn’t 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 cell therapy will rebound. It’s 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 when it does. https://lnkd.in/eKy6hMpx

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The Double Click: New Episode Now Live!    Here is our second episode of #TheDoubleClick, where we explore "change leadership" in large companies. When disruptive technologies emerge, it's important to strategically invest in disruptive innovation for the tectonic industry shifts as well as sustaining innovation for competitive improvements in current trajectory. Both strategies are valuable and necessary. In this episode, I chat with Luis Arosemena, GSK’s Senior Vice President of Global Commercial Strategy. We discuss what endurance sports teach us about leadership, balancing global strategy with local empowerment, the importance of reimagining healthcare in the age of AI, and what Peruvian ceviche can teach us about leadership. It's a thoughtful discussion with practical takeaways for leaders navigating complexity and change. Watch the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/e24gb6bN #TheDoubleClick #AheadTogether #Innovation #Healthcare #Technology  

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We are delighted to announce that Specifica, an IQVIA business transferred its patented Generation 3 antibody discovery platforms to Crossbow Therapeutics, Inc for their T cell receptor-mimetic (TCRm) antibody programs. The comprehensive package is comprised of four scFv sub-libraries, each built on highly developable therapeutic scaffolds, using curated natural human CDRs, purged of sequence liabilities, for all but the HCDR3s. HCDR3s were derived from a unique donor set, not used for any other customers, essentially eliminating overlap between libraries delivered to different parties. Affinity maturation and optimization modules, as well as integrated discovery tools, were part of the package. This is the 20th library platform delivered by Specifica. Platforms comprise scFv, Fab, VHH and/or fixed light chain libraries, integrating advanced in vitro methods into customers’ antibody discovery pipelines without royalties or licensing fees. Visit https://specifica.bio to learn more about our library solutions. #antibody, #antibody libraries, #biotechnology, #phage display, #yeast display

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Met up yesterday at our office with an exciting UK company that has leveraged research and AI tools to offer novel solutions for cancer treatment, and particularly colorectal cancer. It was great to learn from and exchange ideas with the innovative and passionate team at Vivan Therapeutics, led by Laura Towart and Nahuel Villegas. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide, accounting for approximately 10% of all cancer cases and is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. It predominantly affects older individuals, with the majority of cases incurring in people aged 50 and above. Sadly we will all know someone in our lifetimes who will be impacted by this aggressive cancer. Treatment options are most effective if colorectal cancer is detected in the early stages, and treatments for more advanced stage cancers aim to slow down its spread and extend patient life. Survival rates are high if detected at Stage 1. but fighting this cancer is more challenging if it is detected only in the later Stages. Vivan's TuMatch service was developed in partnership with the prestigious Mt Sinai Medical Center, and uses groundbreaking software to build on years of Mt Sinai's research to suggest new possible personalised drug combinations based on the genetic profile of a patient's tumour. The Vivan team likes to work closely with patients and their oncologists who are already undergoing conventional treatments for colorectal cancer, or who face delays in receiving surgery or radiation treatment. What underpins TuMatch? The personalised treatment recommendation for a colorectal cancer is created using a novel combination of already individually approved drugs. This combination is established for a particular patient based on Vivan's unique database , ongoing continuous lab testing, and proprietary software and tools. Vivan has historically focused its efforts in the US, China, UK, and UAE, but CEO Laura says her team is ready to work with patients and their oncologists anywhere in the world. I asked her if she was willing to hear directly from people who might want to learn more and she replied, "of course". She said either DM her directly at Laura Towart or contact her team via the Vivan website at https://lnkd.in/eTW4S4cR

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