Genentech Acquires Jecure Therapeutics

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, will buy Jecure Therapeutics, a biotechnology company that focuses on inflammatory diseases, giving it full rights to Jecure’s preclinical portfolio of nucleotide-binding oligomerization (NOD)-like receptor family pyrin domain containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inhibitors.

Jecure is a biotech startup that began operations in 2015 with seed financing from Versant Ventures. In 2017, the company raised $20 million in Series A funding from Versant to continue the development of its NLRP3 inhibitors portfolio.

NLRP3 is an immunomodulatory protein involved in the activation of certain inflammasomes, protein complexes that are responsible for activating cellular inflammatory responses. Studies have linked cellular stress signals to the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes in a wide range of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), liver fibrosis, gout, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and cardiovascular diseases.

“Genentech has an extensive history of translating pioneering science into transformative medicines,” said Jeffrey A. Stafford, PhD, president and CEO of Jecure, in a Nov. 27, 2018 company press release. “The acquisition of Jecure provides a unique opportunity to bring novel NLRP3 inhibitors to patients.”

Source: Jecure Therapeutics