Roche wants to expand its capacity in the personalized medicine field, using genetic tests to determine the specific treatment an individual is most likely to respond.
The deal will leave Roche holding between 52 percent and 56.3 percent of Foundation. The company is at the cutting edge of technology, offering medicines for infectious diseases, ophthalmology, oncology and immunology. The company is the world’s leader for in vitro and tissue based diagnostics for cancer. Daniel O’Day, Chief Operating Officer of Roche Pharmaceutical said that, “We are very pleased to enter into this collaboration with Foundation Medicine, which has the potential to improve both the development of medicines and patient care, by combining Foundation Medicine’s pioneering approach to genomics and molecular information with Roche’s expertise in the field of oncology, we can bring personalized healthcare in oncology to the next level.” Foundation Medicine stock will open significantly higher this morning, since the deal is only for a majority stake, remaining shares could continue higher. The stock is already trading over the deal’s target price, which was a +109 percent premium over Foundation stock’s Friday’s close.