Roche to Buy Rest of Cancer Firm -- WSJ

By Pietro Lombardi

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (June 20, 2018).

Roche Holding AG on Tuesday said it would pay $2.4 billion to buy the shares it doesn't already own in Foundation Medicine Inc., furthering its bet on personalized cancer care.

The Swiss drug giant, which already owns roughly 57% of Foundation, will pay $137 a share for the U.S.-based company, valuing it at $5.3 billion.

Cambridge, Mass.-based Foundation makes molecular-diagnostic tests that identify alterations in a patient's cancer. Doctors then use the results to match patients with targeted treatments and clinical trials.

The deal to take full control of Foundation comes after Roche first bought a stake in the company in 2015. Roche expects the deal, which has been approved by the boards of both companies, to close in the second half of the year.

"This is important to our personalized healthcare strategy as we believe molecular insights and the broad availability of high-quality comprehensive genomic profiling are key enablers for the development of, and access to, new cancer treatments," said Daniel O'Day, chief executive of Roche Pharmaceuticals.

Foundation was founded in 2010 and two years later launched its flagship test, FoundationOne, which is used for solid tumor cancers including lung, breast and ovarian. It went public in September 2013 and trades on Nasdaq. So far the company's various tests have profiled more than 180,000 patients, according to its website.

The acquisition is the latest bolt-on deal for Roche, following recent purchases of oncology-software company Flatiron Health Inc. and cancer-therapy company Ignyta Inc.

The Foundation deal fits Roche's strategy, says Stefan Schneider, an analyst at Vontobel. "The deal helps Roche take a driving seat and be a leading player in the future development of personalized medicine," he said.

Write to Pietro Lombardi at Pietro.Lombardi@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 20, 2018 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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