Roche announces takeover of biotechnology firm Trophos

Roche has announced the acquisition of Trophos, a privately-held biotechnology company based in Marseille.

Under the terms of the agreement, Trophos shareholders will receive an upfront cash payment of 120 million euros (91.95 million pounds), plus additional contingent payments of up to 350 million euros based on the achievement of certain predetermined milestones.

The firm is known for its proprietary screening platform-generated olesoxime, which is being developed for spinal muscular atrophy – a rare and debilitating genetic neuromuscular disease.

US and EU regulatory authorities have granted orphan drug designation to olesoxime, making it a potentially valuable addition to Roche's product range.

Dr Sandra Horning, chief medical officer and head of global product development at Roche, said: "This acquisition highlights Roche's commitment to developing medicines for spinal muscular atrophy, a serious disease with no effective treatment."

This comes after the company announced the acquisition of Ariosa Diagnostics, a molecular diagnostics testing service provider based in California, last month.