A $190 million deal, brokered over Zoom

Arrakis Therapeutics CEO Michael Gilman knew Roche was serious about partnering on its fledgling RNA pill technology during a visit to Basel last May. Talks between the Swiss pharma giant and the biotech startup accelerated as 2019 ended. 

But then the coronavirus struck.

With everyone self-isolating at home, final negotiations on the $190 million partnership announced Wednesday happened via Zoom calls transmitting from home offices and spare bedrooms instead of law-firm conference rooms.

“It brought an unexpected intimacy to the process,” Gilman said.

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