Roche Holding has agreed to buy a majority stake in U.S.-based molecular and genomic analysis firm Foundation Medicine for up to $1.18 billion, in a move to bolster the Swiss drugmaker's personalized cancer treatments. Dr. Michael J. Pellini, chief executive of Foundation, told CNBC on Monday the deal can accelerate a move into precision medicine for oncology. "It's an important day for patients battling cancer," he said in a "Squawk Box" interview, noting that Foundation helps doctors understand cancer at its blueprint and then deploy targeted therapeutics. Roche will pay $50 a share, or about $780 million, a premium of 109 percent to Foundation's closing price Friday. Roche will also invest $250 million in Foundation by acquiring newly issued shares. As a result, Roche will own 52.4 percent to 56.3 percent of Foundation. The companies said the deal includes the potential for more than $150 million in additional funding by Roche. Reuters contributed to this report. More here: $1.8B drug deal to target cancer at genetic level … Continue reading →

Roche Holding AG agreed to pay $1.03 billion for up to a 56.3% stake in Foundation Medicine Inc. FMI, +105.18% in a collaboration that underscores the growing importance of genetic diagnostics in the treatment and development of drugs for cancer. Under the agreement, Roche ROG, +1.47% RHHBY, +0.87% will launch a tender offer for about 15.6 million shares of the Cambridge, Mass., maker of molecular diagnostic tests for about $780 million, or $50 a share, and it will also acquire five million new shares of the company, also for $50 each. The amount is a 109% premium over Foundations closing price of $23.93 on Friday. Foundation has developed and markets two testsone for solid tumors such as lung cancer and melanoma and one for blood cancers such as leukemiathat use next-generation genetic sequencing to identify mutations that are the drivers of a patients disease. Doctors can use the results to try to match patients with available drugs that target the identified mutations or with clinical trials testing such drugs. This personalized medicine approach is helping to transform cancer treatment and prompting an intense search among drug and biotechnology companies for new driver mutations and drugs that take aim at them. … Continue reading →

New research provides insights into the ties between certain genetic variants and kidney disease in African Americans. The genetic association is one of the strongest ever reported for a common disease, and these latest findings may help improve diagnosis and treatment. The study appears in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). African Americans have a 4-fold increased risk for chronic kidney disease compared with European Americans. Recent work from several research groups has shown that much of this risk is due to genetic variations in a gene called apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1), which creates a protein that is a component of HDL, or good cholesterol. These variants arose tens of thousands of years ago in sub-Saharan Africa, and so are present in individuals who have recent sub-Saharan African ancestry. Approximately 5 million African Americans carry APOL1 risk variants, placing them at increased risk for kidney disease. Jeffrey Kopp, MD (National Institutes of Health) and his colleagues investigated the role of APOL1 variants in a particular form of kidney disease called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). The team studied information on 94 patients with FSGS and found that patients who had APOL1 variants tended to have … Continue reading →