ARTICLE | Deals
The Roche-Arrakis deal in their own words
A conversation with James Sabry and Michael Gilman about how the Roche-Arrakis deal came together
May 9, 2020 3:03 AM UTC
Updated on May 9, 2020 at 4:35 AM UTC
The April deal between Arrakis and Roche started with dinner in Basel and closed over Zoom. In a podcast conversation with BioCentury, the architects of the deal, James Sabry and Michael Gilman, describe how the long courtship ended up simplifying the final stages, and what the partners didn’t let get in the way.
The negotiations landed RNA-targeting therapeutics developer Arrakis Therapeutics Inc. with a multitarget deal that gave it $190 million up front, while allowing it to remain an independent company. Arrakis stands to gain into the billions if it satisfies regulatory and other conditions, in what is one of the biggest deals for Roche (SIX:ROG; OTCQX:RHHBY) with a company at this stage (see “Arrakis Taps Roche”)...