Roche boosts drug profile with US merger
Swiss drug company Roche has announced it is buying United States-based Anadys Pharmaceuticals for $230 million ($257 million).
Basel-based Roche said on Monday that the merger would boost its portfolio of drugs to treat hepatitis C. Anadys has developed an oral drug called Setrobuvir that is currently being trialed for treatment of chronic hepatitis C infections.
Roche said it would pay $3.70 per share, a premium of more than 250 per cent on Anadys’s closing price on Friday.
Anadys CEO Steve Worland said the merger provided “the best chance of success for the new potential treatments our team has been dedicated to developing”.
Roche is a world leader in cancer treatments, diagnostics and diabetes treatments.
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