Date: 2016-01-11
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: Tensha Therapeutics (USA - MA)
Acquiring company: Roche (Switzerland)
Amount: up to $535 million
Terms: * On January 11, 2016, Tensha Therapeutics announced it will be acquired by Roche. Under the terms of the agreement, Tensha’s shareholders will receive an upfront cash payment of $115 million, plus additional contingent payments of up to $420 million based on the achievement of certain predetermined clinical and regulatory milestones. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2016.
Details: Tensha Therapeutics was founded based on discoveries from the laboratory of Dr. James E. Bradner at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The company was managed and funded by HealthCare Ventures. Tensha has developed a pioneering epigenetic technology that disrupts bromodomain and extra terminal domain (BET) proteins in order to develop potential treatments for cancer. The lead product, TEN-010, is a small molecule BET inhibitor that is currently in two Phase 1b clinical trials for the treatment of patients with cancer. In cancer, BET proteins activate growth and survival genes. Further, they contribute to cancer cell memory by binding to the genome as molecular bookmarks. BET inhibitors function as targeted therapy in rare cancers with BET gene rearrangements (NUT midline carcinoma), and in common cancers as a means of inhibiting the function of the master growth control genes, such as MYC.
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