Roche has struck a potential $2 billion collaboration with hematology-focused biotech Atavistik Bio to discover and develop allosteric small-molecule therapies for cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases.
Under the agreement, Roche will provide Atavistik, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with $70 million upfront and could pay as much as another $1.9 billion if development and other milestones are achieved. The companies will use Atavistik’s metabolite-protein screening platform, known as AMPS, to search for previously unidentified functional binding sites on proteins that could serve as starting points for new treatments across the cardiometabolic disease space.
Atavistik will lead the initial discovery and research work, after which Roche will assume responsibility for further preclinical development and subsequent stages.
Atavistik designed AMPS to uncover cryptic binding pockets with biological relevance, potentially enabling the creation of small-molecule medicines against proteins that have historically been challenging to target through conventional drug-discovery approaches.
The biotech’s pipeline already includes ATV-1601, an oral allosteric AKT1 inhibitor currently being tested in a Phase 1/2 study for hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, a serious disorder affecting multiple organs. The company is also developing selective allosteric JAK2 inhibitors in preclinical studies for myeloproliferative neoplasms.
The company has raised $160 million through Series B financing over the past year to support those programs, with investors including Regeneron Ventures and RA Capital Management.
Atavistik CEO Bryan Stuart said the Roche collaboration demonstrates both the strength of the company’s platform and its potential application across different therapeutic fields. He added that working with Roche will allow Atavistik to extend the technology into cardiometabolic diseases while continuing to concentrate internally on its pipeline of potential best-in-class treatments for rare blood disorders.
Cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases have not historically been at the center of Roche’s business, which has long been heavily associated with oncology through medicines such as Herceptin and Avastin. More recently, the company has expanded in rare diseases, including through its spinal muscular atrophy treatment Evrysdi.
Roche has nevertheless been increasing its focus on CVRM and has established a dedicated research campus in Boston to support work in the area.
The company has also pursued a series of transactions intended to strengthen its cardiometabolic pipeline and gain exposure to potentially large commercial opportunities. Among these moves are a partnership with Alnylam around the RNA interference hypertension drug zilebesiran, the $3.5 billion acquisition of 89bio and its fatty liver disease candidate, and the nearly $3 billion purchase of Carmot Therapeutics to expand Roche’s diabetes and obesity programs.
Boris Zaïtra, Roche’s Head of Corporate Business Development, said CVRM remains a strategic priority for the company. He added that combining Atavistik’s allosteric small-molecule discovery approach with Roche’s expertise in disease biology and drug development could help turn complex biological insights into oral therapies for patients with significant unmet needs.
Roche is not the first pharma company Atavistik has collaborated with. Pfizer entered a research collaboration with the biotech in early 2025 to explore precision allosteric therapies against two undefined targets
Atavistik Bio has entered into a strategic research collaboration with Roche to discover and develop novel allosteric small-molecule medicines for cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases. The agreement, announced on September 24, 2026, could be worth nearly $2 billion when potential milestone payments are included.
Under the agreement, Atavistik will receive $70 million upfront and could receive up to $1.9 billion in research, development and commercial milestone payments, along with tiered royalties on future sales of approved medicines.
Atavistik’s AMPS Platform
The collaboration will use Atavistik’s proprietary AMPS drug-discovery platform. The technology is designed to identify functional binding pockets on proteins that may be difficult to target using conventional drug-discovery approaches.
