Madison-based Nimble Therapeutics, a fairly new company that was spun out from Switzerland-based F. Hoffmann-La Roche, is collaborating with Roche Diagnostics to discover and develop novel peptide-based molecules for diagnostics of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Nimble Therapeutics is developing a chemical synthesis technology for drug development. The company is being led by CEO Jigar Patel, who led the development of the chemical synthesis technology.
The company's technology provides the ability to synthesize millions of unique natural and modified peptide-based molecules simultaneously. The team at Roche had been developing the technology for a number of years and executive leaders felt the business model would be best supported if it were an independent company, Patel previously said.
Through the collaboration, Nimble will extend its proprietary peptide synthesis, screening and optimization platform and Roche wil leverage its technology in vitro diagnostic assays to detect SARS-CoV-2. Roche Diagnostics' U.S. headquarters is in Indianapolis.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"We are extremely motivated to partner with Roche to tackle this global COVID 19 health crisis" Patel said in a statement. "This partnership expands our discovery capabilities, demonstrating the power and breadth of the Nimble platform in rapidly discovering novel compounds."
In 2019, Nimble closed on a $10 million Series A round of funding to commercialize its chemical synthesis technology. The financing round was led by San Francisco's Telegraph Hill Partners.
