FTC staff recommends approval of Roche deal for Spark -report
24/10/2019 23:04
WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission
staff reviewing Roche's RBO.PA plan to buy U.S.-based gene
therapy specialist Spark Therapeutics ONCE.O for $4.3 billion
recommended that the deal be approved without requiring any
asset sales, the Capitol Forum reported on Thursday.
Basel-based Roche, the biggest maker of cancer drugs, said
in February that it would buy the U.S. company, acquiring a
portfolio that includes a blindness treatment that has U.S. and
European approval and other projects for neurodegenerative
disorders like Huntington's disease. One of its projects is a
gene therapy treatment for hemophilia. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N20K0QC
The FTC staff had focused on hemophilia treatments since
Roche markets Hemlibra, the report said.
Following the staff's recommendation, officials at the top
of the FTC's Bureau of Competition must weigh in. The next step
would be a vote by the FTC chairman and four commissioners.
The deal must also win approval from the UK's Competition
and Markets Authority, which said this week that it had a
deadline of mid-December for a Phase 1 decision. A Phase 2 probe
would be more in-depth and detailed. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN27705Z
Roche, Spark and the FTC all declined comment.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Additional reporting by John Miller;
Editing by Dan Grebler)
((Diane.Bartz@thomsonreuters.com; 1 202 898 8313;))