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Roche buys Spark Therapeutics gene therapy company for $ 4.8 billion, adding treatment already approved for hereditary blindness and strengthening its portfolio of products with a series of potential drugs for rare diseases.
The Swiss pharmaceutical group has reached an agreement to buy Spark in cash at a price of $ 11.50 per share, a premium of 122% over the closing price of the US company Friday evening.
If approved by US competition authorities, the merger is expected to take place in the second quarter and has been unanimously approved by the boards of Spark and Roche.
US Biotech will continue its operations in Philadelphia as an independent organization within the Roche group of companies.
Roche is looking for new revenue as its "top three" anti-cancer drugs, Avastin, Herceptin and Rituxan / MabThera, lose patent protection and are challenged by cheaper, copy-like biosimilars.
He already has a hemophilia A injection on the market, Hemlibra, which acts as a substitute for missing factor VIII in patients with the disease.
It is therefore logical to buy Spark, because biotechnology is currently developing two treatments for hemophilia A, for forms of the disease with or without inhibitors of factor VIII substitution therapy.
The Spark pipeline also includes treatment for hemophilia B, which, along with the treatment of haemophilia A without inhibitors, is in phase 3 development.
Spark already offers gene therapy against a rare form of hereditary blindness, approved in the US by Luxturna, although Roche's Swiss rival, Novartis, holds rights in Europe, where the drug is also approved.
Spark's gene therapies use viral vectors to insert genes into patients to correct genetic diseases, unique therapies that can transform patients' lives.
In addition to retinal diseases and hemophilia, the company is also working on treatments for lysosomal storage disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.
Roche CEO Severin Schwan said, "Spark Therapeutics' proven expertise across the gene therapy value chain can offer significant new opportunities for the treatment of critical illnesses.
"In particular, Spark's hemophilia A program could become a new treatment option for people living with this disease. We are also pleased to continue investing in Spark's broad product portfolio and our commitment to making Philadelphia a center of excellence. "
However, the high price paid by Roche for Spark will inevitably raise questions about the price of the company's drugs.
The Swiss pharmaceutical industry will seek to monetize the huge investment it has made in US biotechnology, which has already been controversial with its price of Luxturna and its US price of up to $ 850,000 to treat both eyes .
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