Roche, a Swiss pharmaceutical giant, has agreed to a US$7.1 billion deal to acquire Telavant, a biotech company that is developing a promising drug for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Telavant is jointly owned by Roivant and Pfizer, two of Roche’s US competitors.

The deal gives Roche the exclusive rights to RVT-3101, an experimental antibody that targets a protein called TL1A, which is involved in inflammation. RVT-3101 is currently in early-stage clinical trials for IBD, a group of chronic conditions that affect the digestive system, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

Roche’s new CEO Thomas Schinecker said that the acquisition of Telavant is part of his strategy to revitalize the company’s pipeline after some setbacks in cancer and Alzheimer’s research. He also said that he believes that RVT-3101 has the potential to be a game-changer for millions of patients with IBD and possibly other diseases.

IBD is a global health problem that affects about eight million people, with up to 80% of them having to cope with it for life. There is no cure for IBD, and current treatments have limited efficacy and serious side effects.

RVT-3101 is not the only anti-TL1A drug in development. In April, Merck paid US$10.8 billion to buy Prometheus Bio, another biotech company that has an anti-TL1A antibody in late-stage trials. And earlier this month, Sanofi licensed an anti-TL1A antibody from Teva for US$400 million.