NEW YORK – Blueprint Medicines said on Thursday that it will regain development and commercialization rights for its RET inhibitor Gavreto (pralsetinib) from Roche, which has decided to discontinue its collaboration with Blueprint for strategic reasons.
Under the initial terms of the collaboration, which dates back to July 2020, Roche paid $775 million to Blueprint upfront in exchange for exclusive rights to Gavreto outside the US. The deal excluded rights to the agent in greater China, where CStone Pharmaceuticals retains Gavreto rights. The deal with CStone remains in place.
Gavreto has US Food and Drug Administration approval as a treatment for RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer and for certain thyroid cancers that harbor RET mutations or RET fusions.
Between the upfront and milestone payments, the Roche collaboration has brought in roughly $1 billion for Blueprint, which said in a statement that Roche's decision to end the deal isn't expected to impact its 2023 revenue guidance.
The collaboration will terminate 12 months from Feb. 22, 2023, the date Roche notified Blueprint of its plans. In the meantime, the firms plan to spend the year ensuring a smooth transition such that patient access to Gavreto isn't affected. Blueprint has also said it will explore options to advance and simplify its global development and commercialization strategy for Gavreto.