Roche and Memory Pharmaceuticals sign agreement

Roche and Memory Pharmaceuticals have today announced they have signed a merger agreement.

The deal will see Roche acquiring all outstanding shares of the company, in an all-cash transaction, priced at $50 million (32.7 million pounds).

Memory Pharmaceuticals develops drug candidates for the treatment of central nervous system disorders, such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease.

William Burns, chief executive officer of Roche Pharmaceuticals, said: “Acquiring Memory Pharmaceuticals will enable Roche to secure the future development of its promising nicotinic alpha-7 agonists.”

The price of Memory Pharmaceuticals’ common stock is currently $0.61 per share, which represents a 319 per cent premium to the closing price on November 24th.

Following completion of the tender offer, Roche will acquire all remaining shares through a second-step merger.

In other news, Roche Diagnostics entered into a collaborative agreement with Merck Serono and Abbott, in developing the Biotechnology Cluster Rhine-Neckar (BioRN).

The cluster was recently given a federal grant worth 40 million euros (33.7 million pounds) by the German ministry for education and research.

Based in Basel, Switzerland, Roche’s sales in the pharmaceutical division reached 36.8 billion Swiss francs in 2007.

It currently employs approximately 80,000 people.