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Roche's $675M upfront licensing bet on Blueprint's pralsetinib (Gavreto) to compete outside the US in RET-altered lung and thyroid cancers ended in termination—Roche walked away in February 2023, handing rights back to Blueprint, which then resold US rights to Rigel for a fraction of the value.
Roche and Blueprint Medicines announced a substantial collaboration to advance pralsetinib, a therapeutic candidate targeting RET-driven cancers, with…
Blueprint Medicines to regain global rights to GAVRETO (pralsetinib) ex-Greater China following Roche's decision to terminate the collaboration for strategic…
Rigel Pharmaceuticals to acquire US rights to GAVRETO (pralsetinib) from Blueprint Medicines for up to $117.5M ($15M upfront, up to $102.5M milestones) plus…
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In July 2020 Roche entered an exclusive collaboration and license agreement with Blueprint Medicines for the development and commercialization of pralsetinib (Gavreto), a selective RET kinase inhibitor, outside the United States (excluding Greater China, which was retained by CStone). Roche paid $675M upfront in cash plus a $100M equity investment in Blueprint ($775M total upfront), with Blueprint eligible for up to ~$1.05B in milestones plus tiered royalties on ex-US net sales; the companies were to co-commercialize in the US. On February 22, 2023 Roche notified Blueprint it would terminate the collaboration for strategic reasons (effective 12 months later, ~February 2024), and Blueprint regained global rights ex-Greater China. In February 2024 Blueprint sold US rights to pralsetinib to Rigel Pharmaceuticals for up to $117.5M (including up to $102.5M in milestones) plus tiered royalties. The Roche partnership is therefore terminated; Blueprint received roughly $1B in combined upfront and milestone payments over the life of the agreement.
8K US cases/yr · $2.0B Global RET Inhibitor Market (2024)
RET fusions ~2% NSCLC, 10-20% thyroid. Selective RET inhibitors transformed treatment. Pralsetinib subsequently withdrawn from US.
Lilly (Retevmo/selpercatinib) market leader with tumor-agnostic RET approval. Pralsetinib withdrawn, giving selpercatinib near-monopoly.
Pralsetinib (Gavreto) is a selective RET kinase inhibitor approved by the FDA for RET fusion-positive NSCLC (2020) and, with subsequent changes, for RET-altered thyroid cancers; Roche returned US rights to Blueprint in early 2023 amid commercial underperformance. The competitive landscape groups by MOA class: selective RET inhibitors (direct), multi-kinase inhibitors with RET activity (legacy), and tumor-agnostic NTRK/precision backbones (adjacent). In the selective RET class, Lilly's Retevmo (selpercatinib, FDA-approved 2020, expanded to tumor-agnostic RET fusion approval 2022, generating roughly $350M 2024 sales) is the direct head-to-head competitor and the dominant share holder given superior CNS activity and label breadth. Emerging next-generation RET inhibitors designed to overcome solvent-front resistance mutations (G810R/C) include Turning Point/BMS' TPX-0046 (zidesamtinib, Phase 1/2 ARROS-1), Blueprint's own BLU-667 second-generation BLU-242 (development deprioritized), and HUYABIO/other Chinese-market LOXO-260-class assets. In multi-kinase inhibitors with RET activity, legacy agents cabozantinib (Cabometyx, Exelixis, ~$1.9B 2023 sales), vandetanib (Caprelsa, Sanofi, generic), and lenvatinib (Lenvima, Eisai) had previously served RET-altered medullary thyroid cancer before selective agents. Commercial takeaway: pralsetinib lost share to selpercatinib on clinical differentiation; Roche's ex-US rights return signals franchise deprioritization, and the next competitive threat is resistance-mutation-active next-gen selective RET inhibitors.
Blueprint received $675M upfront plus up to $1B milestones for ex-US pralsetinib rights.
Roche paid $675M upfront ($100M cash + $575M equity) for ex-US pralsetinib rights.
Roche discontinued collaboration for strategic reasons. Blueprint regained global rights. ~$1B total received.
Roche exited. Blueprint then licensed US rights to Rigel for $15M. Dramatic value destruction from $675M to $15M.
Roche returned rights for strategic reasons. Blueprint received ~$1B before termination. Asset later sold to Rigel.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roche Holding AG / Blueprint Medicines Corporation (this deal) | 2020 | $1.7B | 35 |
| 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 |
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