Nurix Therapeutics to License BTK Degrader Bexobrutideg to Roche in Up to $2.3 Billion Deal
Roche gains rights to Nurix's brain-penetrant BTK degrader, paying $700 million upfront with milestones tied to oncology, immunology and neurology indications.
Nurix Therapeutics (NRIX) agreed to license its investigational BTK degrader bexobrutideg to Roche in a collaboration that carries an upfront payment of $700 million in cash and up to $2.3 billion in total consideration when development, regulatory and sales milestones are included.
The agreement hands Roche worldwide rights to bexobrutideg, an orally bioavailable, brain-penetrant small molecule that selectively degrades Bruton's tyrosine kinase, a key signaling protein in B cells. Nurix retains no co-development or co-commercialization options on the asset, distinguishing the structure from the company's earlier alliances with Gilead, Sanofi and Pfizer, under which Nurix kept certain U.S. profit-sharing rights.
"Partnering with Roche, a world leader in the treatment of B-cell malignancies, positions Nurix to fully realize the potential of bexobrutideg across multiple indications in oncology, immunology and neurology," said Arthur T. Sands, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Nurix. "We believe Roche is the ideal partner to help translate the promise of targeted protein degradation into meaningful impact for patients worldwide".
Bexobrutideg has generated clinical data across several B-cell malignancies. In a Phase 1a study in relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the compound posted an 83% objective response rate, including two complete responses, with a median progression-free survival of 22.1 months across all doses tested. A randomized Phase 1b cohort showed higher response rates and longer progression-free survival at the 600 mg recommended Phase 2 dose compared with the 200 mg dose, while maintaining a comparable safety profile. Separate data in Waldenström macroglobulinemia showed a 75% ORR with three very good partial responses in heavily pretreated patients, and neither median duration of response nor median PFS had been reached at 8.1 months of follow-up.
Nurix had been advancing bexobrutideg through its pivotal DAYBreak CLL-201 single-arm Phase 2 trial and had planned to initiate a confirmatory Phase 3 study, DAYBreak CLL-306, comparing bexobrutideg monotherapy to pirtobrutinib in the second-line-and-beyond CLL setting. The company also outlined ambitions to file an investigational new drug application in autoimmune and inflammatory indications using a new tablet formulation. Roche's global clinical and commercial infrastructure is expected to accelerate those programs.
The transaction underscores a broader cycle of large pharmaceutical companies licensing targeted protein degradation assets from specialist biotechs. Nurix itself has active discovery collaborations with Gilead, Sanofi and Pfizer spanning degraders of IRAK4, STAT6 and degrader antibody conjugates, partnerships that generated $22 million in milestones and fees through the third fiscal quarter of 2024. The Roche deal, however, represents the largest single-asset commitment in Nurix's history and signals Roche's intent to deepen its franchise in B-cell biology beyond its existing antibody and small-molecule portfolio.
Closing is subject to customary regulatory approvals and the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. Financial terms include tiered royalties on net sales in addition to the milestone tranches, though specific royalty rates were not disclosed.