Roche agrees $8.3bn takeover of InterMune

Roche has announced that it will be acquiring the California-based biotechnology company InterMune in a deal worth $8.3 billion (5.0 billion pounds).

InterMune's business is focused on the research, development and commercialisation of innovative therapies in pulmonology and fibrotic diseases. Its lead medicine, pirfenidone, is approved for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in the EU and Canada.

The takeover will allow the firm to expand its respiratory portfolio globally, complementing existing therapies such as Pulmozyme and Xolair.

Roche is now planning a smooth transition of InterMune employees and operations into its organisational structure, with the aim of launching pirfenidone in the US later this year.

Severin Schwan, chief executive officer of Roche, said: "We look forward to welcoming InterMune employees into the Roche group and to making a difference for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a devastating disease."

This follows the company's acquisition of Santaris Pharma in a deal worth up to $450 million earlier this month.