By David Sachs and Mauro Orru

Roche Holding said it would buy California-based biotechnology company Carmot Therapeutics for up to $3.1 billion, tapping assets it says have the potential to treat obesity in patients with and without diabetes.

The Swiss pharmaceutical company announced the deal on Monday, saying it would pay $2.7 billion in cash to buy privately-owned Carmot Therapeutics, with additional milestone payments of up to $400 million.

The deal will grant Roche access to Carmot's research-and-development portfolio, including clinical-stage subcutaneous and oral incretins. Incretins--gut hormones secreted after food intake--play a key role in modulating blood glucose by stimulating insulin secretion and suppressing appetite.

Roche said Carmot's portfolio includes an asset with the potential to improve weight loss in patients with and without type 2 diabetes, and another asset for the treatment of overweight or obese patients with type 1 diabetes.

"The broad Carmot portfolio offers different routes of administration and opportunities to develop combination therapies that treat obesity and potentially other indications," said Levi Garraway, Roche's Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development.

Roche said Carmot and its roughly 70 employees would join Roche's pharmaceuticals division upon closing of the transaction, expected in the first quarter of 2024.

Roche shares were up 2.3% at CHF245.05 in early-afternoon trading.

Write to David Sachs at david.sachs@wsj.com and Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 04, 2023 06:19 ET (11:19 GMT)

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