New York, Jan 7, 2026, 11:50 a.m. EST — Regular session
- Structure Therapeutics shares rise about 6% in late-morning Nasdaq trade
- SEC filing details a $100 million upfront payment and low single-digit royalties tied to Roche/Genentech’s CT-996
- Focus turns to the full contract disclosure and the company’s next clinical and regulatory milestones
Shares of Structure Therapeutics Inc rose 5.6% to $66.75 in late-morning trade on Wednesday, recovering from early swings as investors sized up a newly disclosed patent license deal tied to Roche and Genentech’s oral obesity drug effort.
The agreement matters because it puts near-term cash on the table for a clinical-stage biotech and suggests its intellectual property has value beyond its own pipeline, at a moment when markets are quick to price any edge in the crowded GLP-1 weight-loss race.
A Form 8-K filing showed the company’s Gasherbrum Bio unit granted Genentech and Roche a non-exclusive, sublicensable license to certain patents covering a class of oral GLP-1 receptor agonists, allowing products containing Genentech’s CT-996 compound. Genentech agreed to pay $100 million within 30 days and royalties at a low single-digit rate — a small slice of future net sales — while the company said the license “does not encumber” its ongoing programs, including its lead GLP-1 candidate aleniglipron. The filing also described a covenant not to assert certain potential future patents, and said the full text of the agreement will be filed with the company’s annual report. 1
BMO Capital reiterated an “Outperform” rating and a $130 price target after the filing, calling the arrangement “likely a mild positive” while arguing it was not the large pharma partnership some investors had been looking for. The firm said 2026 could still bring several catalysts, including an end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the U.S. FDA in the first half of the year. 2
Roche, which has been building out its obesity pipeline, is paying up to reduce patent overhang around CT-996, according to industry coverage of the filing. CT-996 came to Roche via its Carmot Therapeutics buyout, and sits in a competitive field that includes Eli Lilly’s oral GLP-1 orforglipron and other attempts at pills that can match injections on weight loss and tolerability. 3
But the scope of the covered patents is still not spelled out in public detail, and the royalties are only worth something if CT-996 reaches the market. Traders also keep one eye on the usual biotech risk: trial or regulatory stumbles can erase a rally fast, especially in obesity drugs where side effects and dropouts can decide the narrative.
On the chart, Wednesday’s low near $63.26 marked the first obvious support, while the stock tested the $67 area on the upside as volume picked up from the open.
