Poseida Therapeutics, Inc.

Roche Pharma’s CEO Teresa Graham said on a call that the company has not yet seen an impact from workforce cuts at the FDA.\n Big Pharma\'s M&A plans will likely take a hit if the U.S. government under the Trump administration lives up to its threats of imposing tariffs on the industry, Roche’s CEO has warned.In a first-quarter earnings call with journalists Thursday morning, Thomas Schinecker said that, for now, the Swiss pharma’s mantra for finding new acquisitions continues to be: “Does the deal make financial sense?”But Schinecker added that if pharmaceutical tariffs do come into force, the industry will find it “more difficult to make financial sense of any M&A deals.”“My assumption would be that you will see an industry worldwide situation where people probably reduce the effort at this stage, and we\'ll see how things develop,” the CEO continued. “You know, things can change very quickly in this environment.”Against a backdrop of continued threats by the Trump administration to extend tariffs to include pharmaceutical imports into the U.S., Roche announced earlier this week that it will be investing $50 billion in the country over the next five years. These ambitions include the “significant expansion and upgrading” of three existing pharmaceuticals and diagnostics R&D centers as well as previously disclosed plans to consolidate the pharma’s cardiovascular, renal and metabolism R&D work at a new center in Harvard’s Enterprise Research Campus.One impact that the administration is already having on the drug development landscape is widespread cuts to the FDA’s workforce. But Roche Pharma’s CEO Teresa Graham told journalists on the same April 24 call that this has not yet impacted the company’s interactions with the agency.“Obviously, we\'re watching very closely the evolutions within [the Department of Health and Human Services] and the FDA,” Graham said. “At this time, we are not seeing any slowdown, either in development or approval processes, and things seem to be fairly business as usual for the pharma side.”Meanwhile, Roche used its first-quarter earnings results to disclose that it had dropped two candidates from its phase 1 pipeline. One of these was RG6315, which was being developed for systemic sclerosis. Roche’s Genentech unit had decided to halt work on the drug for “strategic reasons” rather than because of any safety concerns, a spokesperson told Fierce.The other terminated program was P-MUC1C-ALLO1, an allogeneic CAR-T that Genentech had come into possession of as part of Roche’s $1.5 billion acquisition of Poseida Therapeutics in November 2024. That specific program had not been part of Roche’s previous partnership with Poseida, the spokesperson pointed out.

Repertoire Immune Medicines has formed its second pharmaceutical partnership since changing course a few years ago, announcing Wednesday a new deal with Roches Genentech division to develop treatments for an unspecified autoimmune disease.Genentech will pay Repertorie, a startup launched by biotechnology company creator Flagship Pioneering, $35 million upfront to start the collaboration. Repertoire will then lead early discovery work, with Genentech handling development and eventually commercialization. The startup could receive up to $730 million in future payouts, as well as sales royalties, if the alliance yields any marketed medicines.Repertoire is built around a technology dubbed Decode thats designed to identify the components of the immune synapse, a type of junction between white blood cells that plays a key role in immune responses. Repertoire uses that information to uncover drugs for cancer and autoimmune conditions and, so far, has publicly disclosed nine bispecific antibodies or vaccines in its pipeline. All are in preclinical testing.Repertoire made much of that progress after a strategic reset, however. The company originally launched with a plan to make personalized cell therapies, but pivoted, laid off staff and switched its leadership after early study data disappointed.That directional change yielded a partnership last year with Bristol Myers Squibb to make tolerizing vaccines for autoimmune disorders. And around that time, Repertoire and Roche began engaging in deal talks too, according to CEO Torben Straight Nissen.The two collaborations have helped Repertoire navigate a tumultuous funding climate for drug startups. The company made partnerships a core piece of its strategy, in part because alliances could create a path forward that was independent of, and less reliant on, raising capital through equity.It harkens back to how biotech used to be in the old days, he said, when startups could use pharma deals to move up the value chain.Repertoire will help Roche develop therapies that treat an immune condition by targeting T cells. The companies arent divulging more specifics, including the disease at the center of the deal. However, Roche has been particularly active in immunology in recent years, cutting deals to acquire gut disease drug developer Telavantas well as autoimmune and cancer cell therapy maker Poseida Therapeutics.Roche has also been studying multiplebispecific T cell engagers, among them its lymphoma drug Lunsumio, in lupus.We look forward to translating the new discoveries Decode and the team at Repertoire will reveal to develop novel medicines for patients suffering from autoimmune diseases, Boris Zatra, Roches head of corporate business development, said in a statement. '

SAN DIEGO and BASEL, Switzerland , April 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bright Peak Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing multifunctional immunotherapies for cancer, today announced the appointment of John Schmid, a seasoned biotechnology executive, to its Board of Directors. “It is a pleasure to welcome John to our Board,” said Fredrik Wiklund, Chief Executive Officer of Bright Peak Therapeutics. “John brings decades of experience and an extensive track record of success in the biotech sector. His strategic insights and financial expertise will be instrumental as we advance our clinical pipeline and scale Bright Peak for long-term success.” “I’m honored to join Bright Peak as an Independent Board Member,” said Mr. Schmid. “I look forward to collaborating with the leadership team and fellow Directors in support of the company’s mission of advancing breakthrough immunotherapies to patients with cancer.” Mr. Schmid brings more than 35 years of financial and senior management experience in the biotechnology industry. As a Chief Financial Officer, he has raised over $900 million through private and public equity and debt financings. He has guided two companies through successful IPOs as a CFO, and over the course of the last ten years, he has been involved in six additional IPOs as an independent board member. He currently serves on the Boards of AnaptysBio (Nasdaq: ANAB), Design Therapeutics (Nasdaq: DSGN), Poseida Therapeutics (Nasdaq: PSTX), and Xeris Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: XERS), as well as the SPAC Helix Acquisition (Nasdaq: HLXA), acting as Audit Chair for each. He is also a Board Member of Forge Therapeutics and Speak, Inc. Previously, Mr. Schmid was CFO of Auspex Pharmaceuticals, which he took public in 2014 and later sold to Teva for $3.5 billion. He also co-founded Trius Therapeutics in 2004, serving as CFO through its IPO and eventual acquisition by Cubist Pharmaceuticals for over $700 million. Before Trius, he was CFO of GeneFormatics and Endonetics (acquired by Medtronic) as well as an Associate with Idanta Partners, a venture capital firm, Vice President at HomeFed Bank and a Financial Analyst for Manufacturers Hanover (now part of J.P. Morgan) in New York. He is a past President and a past board member of the San Diego Venture Group. Mr. Schmid received a BA in Economics from Wesleyan University and an MBA from the University of San Diego. About Bright Peak Therapeutics Bright Peak Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering multifunctional immunotherapies to treat cancer. Leveraging innovative protein engineering and a proprietary chemical conjugation platform, Bright Peak is building a robust pipeline of first-in-class multifunctional molecules. Its lead program, BPT567—a bifunctional PD1-IL18 immunoconjugate—is currently in Phase 1/2a clinical trials. Backed by leading healthcare investors, Bright Peak operates from its dual locations in San Diego, CA ,and Basel, Switzerland. For more information, visit www.brightpeaktx.com. Contact:info@brightpeaktx.com