The Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche is in talks with the American Roivant to buy a gastroenterology treatment in a transaction that could amount to 7,000 million dollars (6,200 million euros), according to the Wall Street Journal. A transaction “could be announced in the coming days,” the US business daily said overnight from Thursday to Friday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
However, they can still fail, according to these sources, who explain that another potential buyer may also emerge. Contacted by AFP, the Swiss group, world number one in oncology, indicated that it is a principle not to comment on market rumors.
Discussions center on a treatment called RVT-3101 for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. It is in phase 3, the most advanced of the clinical trials, after encouraging results in phase 2b, according to a release published by the American company in June.
A subsidiary with Pfizer
Created in 2014, Roivant is specialized in treatments that have stagnated during their development, for which it creates subsidiaries in order to continue the work and market them, explains the Wall Street Journal. This biotech company was founded by American businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, a candidate in the Republican primaries for the 2024 US presidential election. In February, he left the board of directors to focus on the campaign.
In December, Roivant had created a subsidiary with the American giant Pfizer to continue its development. Pfizer owns a 25% stake and has rights outside of the United States and Japan.
In April, US giant Merck announced its $10.8 billion acquisition of California biotech Prometheus Biosciences, which is also in the process of developing a treatment for autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s disease.
Source: BFM TV
