Roche Invests $55M in Manifold Bio's Blood-Brain Barrier Technology

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche has entered into a licensing agreement with Manifold Bio, investing $55 million upfront to develop new blood-brain barrier (BBB) shuttles for targeted neurological and neurodegenerative disease therapies. The deal, which could potentially reach $2 billion in milestones, aims to leverage Manifold's innovative tissue-targeting shuttle technology and AI-driven discovery platform to enhance drug delivery to the central nervous system.

Manifold's AI-Powered Approach to BBB Shuttles

Manifold Bio, a platform biotech company born out of Harvard geneticist George Church's lab, will utilize its mDesign AI-driven in vivo discovery engine to identify and develop next-generation BBB shuttles. The company's technology systematically measures thousands of prospective shuttles that can transport medicines to the brain through multiple receptors directly in living systems.

Gleb Kuznetsov, Ph.D., CEO of Manifold, stated, "Engineering molecules to safely cross the blood-brain barrier has been a grand challenge for decades, and it's exactly the kind of problem where Manifold's direct-to-vivo approach provides a decisive edge."

Roche's Long-Standing Interest in BBB Technology

Roche has been working on BBB shuttles for over 15 years, with its own Brainshuttle technology already in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis. The company's most advanced candidate using this technology is trontinemab, a brain shuttle bispecific 2+1 amyloid-beta-targeting monoclonal antibody that recently entered phase 3 development.

Boris Zaïtra, head of corporate business development at Roche, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, saying, "We are excited about our partnership with Manifold to identify the next generation of highly specific BBB shuttles, applicable across multiple therapeutic modalities, to tackle some of the most important neurological and neurodegenerative diseases."

Deal Structure and Future Prospects

Under the terms of the agreement, Manifold will lead the early research and development activities to identify and develop new BBB shuttles compatible with Roche's therapeutic payloads. Roche will then take over preclinical and clinical work for the resulting candidates.

The nonexclusive deal structure allows Manifold to retain the right to use the BBB shuttles outside of Roche's licensed targets. Additionally, Manifold has the option to co-fund the development of one program in exchange for enhanced royalties.

This collaboration represents a significant step forward in the development of targeted therapies for central nervous system disorders, combining Roche's extensive experience in the field with Manifold's cutting-edge AI-driven discovery platform.