Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
A $718M Roche/Genentech license for AC Immune's anti-tau antibody semorinemab that ended in bust: after extending an 18-year Alzheimer's alliance dating to 2006, Roche returned global rights to both semorinemab and crenezumab to AC Immune in 2024 when neither antibody showed sufficient clinical benefit.
Roche snags another Alzheimer antibody from AC Immune in $418M plus deal for semorinemab anti-tau therapeutic candidate
Roche ducks out of AC Immune Alzheimer antibody alliance returning rights to two programs after nearly two decades of collaboration
Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.
All 4 sources with sentiment breakdown →
In June 2012, AC Immune entered its second exclusive worldwide license and research collaboration with Genentech (a member of the Roche Group), covering AC Immune's anti-tau antibody program — the asset that became semorinemab. AC Immune received an undisclosed upfront payment (~CHF 59M / $68M) and was eligible for milestones exceeding CHF 400 million (~$418M) across Alzheimer's disease and other indications, plus tiered royalties. The pact extended a relationship begun with the companies' 2006 anti-amyloid-beta collaboration on crenezumab. Roche/Genentech returned global rights to both crenezumab and semorinemab to AC Immune in 2024, ending the ~18-year alliance after the antibodies failed to demonstrate sufficient clinical benefit.
500K US cases/yr · $4.0B Global AD Therapeutics Market (2013) · $718M Combined Deal Potential Value
This combined collaboration covered both anti-amyloid (crenezumab, from 2006 deal) and anti-tau (semorinemab, from 2012 deal) approaches to Alzheimer's. The dual-pathway strategy represented Roche's comprehensive bet on disease modification in AD, targeting the two hallmark pathologies: amyloid plaques and tau tangles.
Both programs ultimately failed in clinical trials. Crenezumab failed Phase III CREAD trials in 2022 (no efficacy in sporadic AD). Semorinemab showed mixed results. Roche terminated the entire 18-year AC Immune collaboration in 2024, returning all assets. Meanwhile, Biogen/Eisai's lecanemab and Lilly's donanemab proved the anti-amyloid hypothesis viable in 2023-2024, but targeting a different epitope and patient population.
CORRECTION: The user referenced a 2019 deal worth $2.9B; however, the Roche/AC Immune anti-tau collaboration was announced in 2012 with total potential value of approximately CHF 400 million (~$418M), building on a 2006 anti-amyloid deal ($300M+ potential). Combined, the two coll
Transaction terminated. er's disease. Roche terminated the entire 18-year collaboration in 2024, returning all assets including semorinemab and crenezumab to AC Immune.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roche Holding AG / AC Immune SA (this deal) | 2012 | $718M | 41 |
| Roche Holding AG / Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. | 2002 | $1.4B | 100 |
| Roche Holding AG / Ventana Medical Systems Inc. | 2008 | $3.4B | 88 |
| Roche Holding AG / Corange Ltd. (Boehringer Mannheim Group) | 1997 | $11.0B | 88 |
| Roche Holding AG / Ventana Medical Systems Inc. | 2007 | $3.4B | 88 |
| Roche Holding AG / Foundation Medicine, Inc. | 2015 | $1.1B | 87 |
| Roche Holding AG / Foundation Medicine, Inc. | 2018 | $5.3B | 85 |
← Browse all deals · How we score deals
More: 2012 deals · Roche Holding AG deals · Neurology deals