Roche to buy Mirus for $125 million

Roche to buy Mirus for $125 million

Madison, Wis.Roche announced today that it is buying Mirus Bio Corporation for $125 million, one year after acquiring NimbleGen, also a Madison-based company.

Mirus specializes in RNA interference, or RNAi, a mechanism that the human body uses to prevent specific genes from being expressed. RNAi research might lead to treatments for cancer and for respiratory and metabolic disorders.
“The pioneering work in RNAi delivery by the scientists at Mirus, together with our Centre of Excellence for RNAi research in Kulmbach, puts Roche at the forefront of bringing this whole new class of treatment to patients who suffer from difficult to treat diseases,” said Lee E. Babiss, global head of Roche’s pharmaceutical research, in a press release.
In the release, Roche said that Mirus would maintain its Wisconsin location and become a standalone unit, without affecting existing customers.
Last year, Roche announced an alliance with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, headquartered in the United States, and acquired Alnylam’s European research site in Kulmbach, Germany. The Kulmbach site is now Roche’s center for RNAi theraputic research.
The present news comes as Roche has also offered to buy the 44.1% of Genentech that it does not currently own for $89 per share in cash, or $43.7 billion, but analyst reaction suggests this price was too low, and trading took Genentech above $93 since the offer.
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