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Roche in takeover bid for US firm Illumina

Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche announced on Wednesday it had launched a takeover bid for Illumina, a US company that specialises in life sciences.

Roche in takeover bid for US firm Illumina

Roche said it had made “multiple efforts” to start talks with Illumina to negotiate a deal but the US firm had not been willing to enter “substantive discussions”

“Roche has therefore decided to promptly commence a tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Illumina for $44.50 per share in cash,” said a company statement.

This offer was “full and fair value” for the company, Roche chief executive Severin Schwan said in a statement.

He added: “It is our strong preference to enter into a negotiated transaction with Illumina, and we remain willing to engage in a constructive dialogue with Illumina to jointly develop an optimal strategy for maximizing the value of our combined business.”

The statement said the offer represented a 64 percent premium over Illuminas stock price on December 21st, 2011 and put the value of the San Diego-based company at $5.7 billion.

A brief statement from Illumina acknowledged that Roche had made an “unsolicited offer” for the company.

It said the board of directors would “thoroughly review” the proposal and make a recommendation “in due course” adding that it had asked share holders to take no action in the meantime.

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ROCHE

Swiss-American antibody drug ‘effective at preventing Covid infection’

US biotech firm Regeneron and its Swiss partner Roche unveiled promising clinical trial results Monday indicating that an antibody treatment used to treat Covid-19 patients also helps prevent infections.

Swiss-American antibody drug 'effective at preventing Covid infection'
Photo: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

The results of the Phase 3 trial showed that the combination of the antibodies casirivimab and imdevimab dramatically reduced the risk of symptomatic infection among people living with Covid-19 patients, Roche said in a statement.

The trial entailed injecting 1,505 people not infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus but living in households with people carrying the virus with the Regeneron antibody cocktail or a placebo.

READ MORE: Why are vaccination appointments still vacant in Zurich?

The trial, which was conducted in cooperation with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, showed that those who received the antibody cocktail saw their risk of symptomatic infection reduced by 81 percent, the companies said.

It also indicated that those treated with casirivimab and imdevimab who did experience symptomatic infection on average saw their symptoms clear within one week — far faster than the three-week average for those who received the placebo.

In a separate part of the study, 204 people who had recently tested positive for Covid-19 but showed no symptoms received either a dose of the antibody cocktail or a placebo.

Those who received the cocktail saw their risk of developing symptoms reduced by 31 percent compared to the placebo group, the companies said.

“Today’s data confirm the potential dual value of casirivimab and imdevimab to reduce household Covid-19 infections and to decrease the disease burden in those who do become infected, when given as a subcutaneous option,” Levi Garraway, Roche’s chief medical officer said in a statement.

“Although vaccinations are increasing globally, there remains a critical unmet need worldwide to prevent infections and provide immediate protection from Covid-19 between close contacts,” he said.

EXPLAINED: How Switzerland is speeding up its vaccination programme

Regeneron president and chief scientist George Yancopoulos agreed, pointing out that in the United States alone, 60,000 people are being diagnosed with Covid-19 every day.

The antibody cocktail “may help provide immediate protection to unvaccinated people who are exposed to the virus”, he said in a statement, adding that it could also potentially “provide ongoing protection for immunocompromised patients who may not respond well to vaccines”.

Regeneron said it would present the data to the US Food and Drug Administration and request it clear the Covid antibody cocktail for use as a preventative treatment.

The companies said they would share the new data with health regulators worldwide.

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