Roche Holding announced it would pay $8.3 billion for InterMune a California biotech firm that has yet to turn a profit on a new drug to treat a deadly lung disease.
The takeover would allow the Swiss company to expand its presence in the treatment of respiratory disorders, one of the world’s biggest drug markets. In InterMune, Roche found a suitable target because it has a drug, Esbriet, already approved in Europe and Canada.
Esbriet aims to treat a lung-scarring condition called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which currently lacks an approved therapy in the U.S. Pharmaceutical executives look for such opportunities because companies can charge high prices for new drugs involving poorly treated diseases.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which affects about 100,000 people in the U.S., has been an especially daunting medical target. Researchers aren’t sure what causes it, though they believe genetics play a role. Scar tissue buildup in the lung becomes so thick that lungs have trouble supplying the brain and other organs with oxygen. The disease tends to attack middle-aged and older adults. Patients often die three to five years after diagnosis.
Although Esbriet hasn’t been approved in the U.S., it is as close to a sure bet as Roche could ask for, given the drug’s approval in Europe and Canada. Positive trial results posted earlier this year lend hope for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as early as November.