Roche Holdings AG is buying Spark Therapeutics by paying $4.8 billion getting its hand on a promising biotechnology company.
Roche has offered $114.50 for each share in the Philadelphia-based company, a premium of more than 122 per cent to Spark’s closing price last week when it finished with a market value of $1.94bn. The offer values Spark’s equity at $4.8bn inclusive of about $500m of net cash. Currently, the market cap of Spark is at $2 bn.
Spark Therapeutics, the expertise of gene therapy drugs innovation, was founded in 2013 at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Later, its Luxturna blindness treatment was the first gene therapy for an inherited disease to get U.S. FDA approval.
“As the only biotechnology company that has successfully commercialized a gene therapy for a genetic disease in the U.S., we have built unmatched competencies in the discovery, development and delivery of genetic medicines. But the needs of patients and families living with genetic diseases are immediate and vast,” said Jeffrey D. Marrazzo, chief executive officer of Spark Therapeutics. “With its worldwide reach and extensive resources, Roche will help us accelerate the development of more gene therapies for more patients for more diseases and further expedite our vision of a world where no life is limited by the genetic disease.”
“Spark Therapeutics’ proven expertise in the entire gene therapy value chain may offer important new opportunities for the treatment of serious diseases,” said Severin Schwan, chief executive officer of Roche. “In particular, Spark’s haemophilia A program could become a new therapeutic option for people living with this disease. We are also excited to continue the investments in Spark’s broad product portfolio and commitment to Philadelphia as a center of excellence.”
Spark Therapeutics will continue its operations in Philadelphia as an independent company within the Roche Group.
Spark Therapeutics Pipeline Products:
- SPK-7001:Choroideremia: Phase 1/2
- Stargardt Disease: Discovery
- Fidanacogene elaparvovec (SPK-9001): Hemophilia B: Phase 3
- SPK-8011: Hemophilia A: Phase 3
- SPK-8016: Hemophilia A with inhibitors: Phase 1/2
- SPK-3006: Pompe Disease: Candidate Optimization / IND-Enabling
- SPK-1001: CLN2 Disease (a form of Batten Disease): Candidate Optimization / IND-Enabling
- Huntington’s Disease: Candidate Optimization / IND-Enabling
About Spark Therapeutics
Spark Therapeutics, a fully integrated, commercial company committed to discovering, developing and delivering gene therapies, we challenge the inevitability of genetic diseases, including blindness, hemophilia, lysosomal storage disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. We have successfully applied our technology in the first gene therapy approved in both the U.S. and EU for a genetic disease, and currently have four programs in clinical trials, including product candidates that have shown promising early results in patients with hemophilia. At Spark, we see the path to a world where no life is limited by the genetic disease. For more information, visit www.sparktx.com
About Roche
Roche Holding AG engages in the diagnostics and pharmaceuticals businesses in Switzerland, Germany, and the rest of Europe. A company with 120 years of history in the field of medicine and diagnostic services. We are a leader in oncology, we have a growing number of neuroscience projects and immunology is performing well. Over the last six years, the US Food and Drug Administration granted breakthrough therapy designations to no fewer than 24 of Roche’s active ingredients, six in 2018 alone. For more information, visit https://www.roche.com/
