Roche to purchase Mirus Bio

Roche has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Mirus Bio to advance its research in the field of Ribonucleic Acid interference (RNAi) delivery.

Mirus Bio is focused on the discovery and development of novel nucleic acid based technologies, including a proprietary RNAi delivery platform.

It claims this platform provides an innovative means of transporting RNAi molecules to specific target cells.

In 2007, Roche announced a partnership agreement with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals which included the purchase of its European research site which has now become the firm’s established Centre of Excellence for therapeutic research in this area.

Lee E Babiss, global head of pharma research at Roche, said: “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.”

He added the company’s global research team has made great progress in advancing RNAi therapeutics, with its later efforts set to enhance this work.

Earlier this week, Roche made an offer to acquire the outstanding shares of Genentech for $89 (44.7 pounds) per share.