Is Roche Going to Do Some Big Rare Disease Drug Deals?

So is Roche going to do some rare disease deals or not? Rumors of a possible buyout of Alexion and BioMarin– alternatively dissed and touted– helped make this one of the big questions for deal watchers. Roche CEO Severin Schwan’s answer can now be summarized in one word: Maybe.

“We go where the science takes us, wherever it is, independent from the size of the patient population,” Schwan told a crowd of reporters, according to a report from Reuters.

Roche has been going where the science took it in the cancer field to considerable acclaim, but it’s looking to branch out into other disease categories, in particular autoimmune and inflammatory diseases as well as the neurosciences. That’s where the industry should anticipate future headlines. But Roche is a big company with a big appetite that can’t necessarily be satisfied by a handful of diseases.

Read more: Is Roche going to do some big rare disease drug deals? – FierceBiotech