Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Roche paid $125M for Mirus Bio's RNAi therapeutics arm in 2008, then abandoned the field entirely two years later—transferring the assets, Madison site, and staff to Arrowhead Research for a nominal $50,000 note. No Roche-derived RNAi product from the deal ever reached approval.
Roche paid $125M for Mirus Bio's RNAi therapeutics arm in 2008 and abandoned the entire RNAi field just two years later, giving the assets, Madison site, and staff away to Arrowhead Research for a nominal $50,000 note plus minority equity.
Full analysis, sources & comparables →GenomeWeb described the deal as Roche 'expanding its stable of RNAi delivery technologies,' building on the prior Alnylam alliance to assemble the broadest…
Three-year postscript: Roche transferred the former Mirus Bio Madison, WI facility, DPC platform, ~40 scientists and IP to Arrowhead in 2011 after exiting RNAi…
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RNAi delivery, dynamic polyconjugate; transfection reagents spun out as Mirus Bio LLC
Roche paid $125M for Mirus Bio's RNAi therapeutics arm in 2008 and abandoned the entire RNAi field just two years later, giving the assets, Madison site, and staff away to Arrowhead Research for a nominal $50,000 note plus minority equity.
Assessment window: 15yr post-close.
RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics use small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to silence disease-causing genes — but in 2008 the field's central bottleneck was systemic delivery: getting siRNA past nucleases, into the right tissue, and across the cell membrane. Hepatocyte-targeted delivery via the liver's GalNAc-asialoglycoprotein receptor and lipid nanoparticle (LNP/SNALP) systems were the leading approaches.
In 2008 the RNAi delivery race featured Alnylam (GalNAc conjugates, broad IP), Tekmira/Protiva (SNALP/LNP), Silence Therapeutics (AtuPLEX), and Mirus Bio (Dynamic PolyConjugates — small flexible polymer particles for hepatocyte siRNA delivery developed by Jon Wolff and Dave Rozema). Big pharma was racing to lock in delivery: Roche signed a major Alnylam alliance in July 2007, Merck acquired Sirna for $1.1B in 2006, Pfizer licensed DPCs non-exclusively, and AstraZeneca partnered with Silence. Roche's $125M Mirus Bio acquisition in July 2008 captured the DPC platform plus the Madison, Wisconsin team and spun the transfection-reagent business out as a standalone Mirus Bio LLC. Per analyst Dirk Haussecker, the price was steep but strategically transformative — Roche became the only company with both DPC and SNALP access through its Alnylam relationship, leaving Pfizer and Merck exposed. The narrative arc closed in 2011 when Roche exited RNAi entirely and transferred the Madison facility, DPC platform, ~40 scientists, and IP to Arrowhead Research, which still uses an evolved DPC ('TRiM') in its commercial-stage hepatology pipeline. Source: http://rnaitherapeutics.blogspot.com/2008/07/roche-nabs-mirus-bios-rnai-therapeutics.html
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roche Holding AG / Mirus Bio Corporation (this deal) | 2008 | $125M | 10 |
| Roche Holding AG / Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. | 2002 | $1.4B | 100 |
| Roche Holding AG / Ventana Medical Systems Inc. | 2008 | $3.4B | 88 |
| Roche Holding AG / Corange Ltd. (Boehringer Mannheim Group) | 1997 | $11.0B | 88 |
| Roche Holding AG / Ventana Medical Systems Inc. | 2007 | $3.4B | 88 |
| Roche Holding AG / Foundation Medicine, Inc. | 2015 | $1.1B | 87 |
| Roche Holding AG / Foundation Medicine, Inc. | 2018 | $5.3B | 85 |
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