Roche has agreed to acquire Trophos, a privately held biotechnology company based in Marseille, France, for an upfront cash payment of EUR 120 million ($138 million), plus additional contingent payments of up to EUR 350 million ($403 million) based on achievement of certain predetermined milestones.

Trophos's lead product candidate is olesoxime, which is being developed for spinal muscular atrophy, a rare and debilitating genetic neuromuscular disease that is most commonly diagnosed in children. The drug is in Phase II development.

Olesoxime has been granted orphan medicinal product designation for the treatment of SMA by the European Medicines Agency and orphan drug designation by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Trophos is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutics. The company has developed a proprietary cholesterol-oxime based chemistry platform. Trophos's mitochondrial targeted compounds enhance the function and survival of stressed cells by preventing mitochondrial permeability transition, a key determinant of cell death or survival. Trophos was founded in 1999 and is supported by a syndicate of private equity funds, including ACG Management, OTC Agregator, Amundi Private Equity Funds, Turenne Capital, Sofipaca and Vesale Partners, as well as the French Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Source: Roche