Roche's Q3 pipeline cull ends Poseida's off-the-shelf CD19xCD20 CAR-T
- Roche stopped RG6540, an allogeneic CD19xCD20 CAR-T from the Poseida acquisition; its lupus/MS study was withdrawn and a B-cell malignancy study terminated.
- The cull also covers several early programs, including an Alzheimer's antisense drug and a geographic atrophy small molecule, and an atopic dermatitis study for afimkibart.
- The CEO said Roche still backs CD19xCD20 CAR-T and merely stopped this molecule, pointing to other Poseida candidates; the myeloma asset RG6538 continues.
💡 Points
Poseida was bought for up to $1.5B largely to get off-the-shelf cell therapy for autoimmune disease, so shelving its lead autoimmune molecule stings. Roche's line that better CD19xCD20 successors exist is not yet visible in its published pipeline, so the autoimmune CAR-T thesis rests on molecules we haven't seen. Watch the next update for what replaces RG6540.
Roche’s pipeline trim claims Poseida’s off-the-shelf CAR T asset ↗