See you at the top! Doctors remember “the roadblocks and stumbles that occurred in the early days of gene therapy,” said Jonathan Epstein, chief scientific officer at the Penn medical school.

It's important to note that Schwan didn't even mention Luxturna in his comments. “Great news for Philly,” noted Martin Lehr, founder of Philadelphia-based Context Therapeutics.
“Manufacturing facilities you see historically outside major urban areas,” Marrazzo said. The company was founded in 2013 by Katherine A. An invaluable data source for traders & investors looking to familiarize themselves with the Roche (RHHBY) takeover of Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) and trade the merger arbitrage spread. Not only can we apply the tech to rare genetic diseases,” but also to more widespread brain, eye, and other conditions, he added. Cumulative Growth of a $10,000 Investment in Stock Advisor, Why Spark Therapeutics Is Skyrocketing 120% Today @themotleyfool #stocks $ONCE $RHHBY, winning FDA approval for Luxturna for treating a rare genetic eye disease in December 2017, forked over another $2.4 billion last year, Why Coeur Mining, Spark Therapeutics, and Tandem Diabetes Care Slumped Today, Why Spark Therapeutics Stock Soared 137% in February, Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript, 2 Sets of Disasters Biotech Will Pay For in 2019, Copyright, Trademark and Patent Information. In particular, Spark's hemophilia A program could become a new therapeutic option for people living with this disease.". The Daily Biotech Pulse: Roche-Spark Deal Faces Further Delay, Bayer's Prostate Cancer Drug Passes FDA Muster, 3 Ways To Double Your Money That You Wouldn't Believe Are Possible, 10-Q - Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)], Sangamo: Lead Gene Therapy Program Moving Into Phase 3, Spark Therapeutics Announces Change of Location for Annual Meeting of Stockholders, Wall Street Breakfast: Showdown Over No-Deal Brexit, Another extension for Roche-Spark takeover offer, Companies to Watch: Roche gets more time for Spark deal, AstraZeneca shows promise in clinical trial, Snap get upgraded, $4.3B deal delayed again: Roche extends Spark Therapeutics offer for sixth time, Roche, Spark again extend $4.3 billion takeover offer, Genomic Medicine: Fall 2019 Tracking Update, ETFs Poised to Benefit from Gene Editing Revolution, UPDATE 1-Roche CEO touts drugs pipeline, rules out, Roche CEO touts drugs pipeline, rules out M&A just to boost sales, Philadelphia Immuno-oncology company Imvax hires CEO, Paralympic Skier Danelle Umstead Teams Up with Spark Therapeutics to Help People Living with Inherited Retinal Diseases (IRDs) Access Genetic Testing, Roche extends Spark offer again as regulatory review drags on, Roche's (RHHBY) Rituxan Receives FDA Nod for Label Expansion, Seventh time a charm? Spark Therapeutics, Inc. is a developer of gene therapy treatments, which treat debilitating genetic diseases.

In addition to these, an RSS feed is also available at the bottom right of the page. “Their vision is very much, long-term oriented, to make Philadelphia the center of excellence for gene therapy within the Roche group” under the Spark name, said Marrazzo. The company’s gene therapy product candidates comprise SPK-8011 and SPK-8016 for hemophilia; SPK-7001 for choroideremia; and SPK-9001 for hemophilia B. Marrazzo said that Roche's "worldwide reach and extensive resource" would help Spark Therapeutics "accelerate the development of more gene therapies for more patients with more diseases and further expedite our vision of a world where no life is limited by genetic disease.". Roche (RHHBY) and Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) merger information including expected completion date and offer price are displayed in the deal information table below. In a landmark deal that marks the march of gene therapies from med school labs to patients and the mainstream economy, the Swiss drug giant Roche says it has completed its $4.3 billion purchase of Philadelphia-based Spark Therapeutics Inc. after U.S. and British regulators approved the deal following a nine-month review. "For a lot of my career I took care of people with severe hemophilia and it constrains your choices about what you will grow up to do. We have a perfect nexus of seriously deep academic talent and research. The Roche deal “shows there is a path for multinational companies to acquire focused rare-disease companies,” added Barbara Schilberg, chief executive at BioAdvance. As one of the biggest healthcare companies in the world, Roche brings resources to the table that Spark didn't have on its own. Despite progressing toward phase 3 trials, Spark Therapeutics investors sold shares following the company's update. Even investors who bought at the biotech's all-time high share price in July 2018 will receive a return of 24% in only seven months. “Today ushers in a new and promising era in the development of genetic medicines for patients and families living with inherited diseases and beyond,” said Jeffrey D. Marrazzo, co-founder and CEO of Spark Therapeutics. And this deal is also a big win for Roche. Stock analysis for Spark Therapeutics Inc (ONCE) including stock price, stock chart, company news, key statistics, fundamentals and company profile. Contact us using the details given on the. Roche CEO Severin Schwan stated, "Spark Therapeutics' proven expertise in the entire gene therapy value chain may offer important new opportunities for the treatment of serious diseases. The huge jump came after Roche Holdings (OTC:RHHBY) announced that it was acquiring Spark for $114.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $4.8 billion. Luxturna was the first gene therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat an inherited disease.

But the deal leaves investors with one less promising biotech stock to buy with the potential to generate a huge return in a short time. Returns as of 10/16/2020. Spark Therapeutics itself is also a winner. Among other locations, the company is scouting for a gene products factory location, like the new Tmunity research and development and production center at the former Tengion labs near Norristown, or the WuXi AppTec labs at the former Navy Yard in South Philly. “The full potential of gene therapy is not fully realized. Receive instant FREE access to constantly updated ONCE news related to the current merger deal. Receive full access to our market insights, commentary, newsletters, breaking news alerts, and more. What did Roche like about Spark? For more proprietary Merger Arbitrage Limited content and analysis on the Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) buyout, follow this link Spark Therapeutics (ONCE). Shares of Spark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ONCE) were skyrocketing 120.1% as of 11:33 a.m. EST on Monday.

Penn scientists "went back into the laboratory” and came up with safer ways to deliver the therapy, added Epstein. The biotech is so far the only company to have successfully launched a gene therapy for a genetic disease in the U.S. after winning FDA approval for Luxturna for treating a rare genetic eye disease in December 2017. “Real estate here is more affordable than Boston or South San Francisco.” He’d like to see Pennsylvania match other states’ public funding of basic medical research.

The Swiss healthcare giant hasn't been bashful about gobbling up smaller players to fortify its position in promising technologies. “This is a day we have been excited about for a long time,” said CEO Jeffrey Marrazzo. The Federal Trade Commission and European regulators cleared Roche's proposed $4.3 billion purchase of Spark Therapeutics, paving the way for …

Roche extends $4.3B Spark tender offer once again, Why Roche's Acquisition Of Spark May Be Complete By Year's End. In 2000, the FDA suspended research at Penn’s Institute for Human Gene Therapy after the death a year before of Jesse Gelsinger, a patient in a gene therapy trial. Today, "two-thirds of the [gene therapy] clinical trials in the world now use vectors that were derived here in Philadelphia.”.
This deal can be considered a win-win-win proposition. Keith began writing for the Fool in 2012 and focuses primarily on healthcare investing topics. ", University of Pennsylvania professor’s gene-therapy start-up raises another $50 million, PhillyBioCapital: $75M for Limelight ‘leapfrog’ gene therapy; LLR’s $40M to Suvoda, ‘Like a traveler on the Oregon Trail’: Katherine High on making gene therapy a viable option | Industry Icons, new Tmunity research and development and production center at the former Tengion labs near Norristown, WuXi AppTec labs at the former Navy Yard in South Philly. View the latest Spark Therapeutics Inc. (ONCE) stock price, news, historical charts, analyst ratings and financial information from WSJ. However, Roche sees a bigger picture for Spark's role in treating genetic diseases -- and that's why the company was willing to pay such an attractive price. “As you engage with new stakeholders [such as] insurance companies and regulators, there is a huge amount of education” that Spark has had to do, Marrazzo said. Still work to do.

Spark’s first product, approved in 2017, is Luxturna, a gene therapy treating a rare hereditary blindness, which the company licensed to Novartis early last year. Jeffrey D. Marrazzo Chief Executive Officer. Compared with the early trials in the 1980s and 1990s, “today’s trials are at breakthrough levels, as opposed to incremental improvements,” said Philadelphia investor and biotech research donor Richard Vague. Despite … Spark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ONCE) recently updated investors on the clinical-trial performance of its gene therapy for hemophilia A. Technically, Roche's acquisition of Spark Therapeutics isn't a done deal. Marrazzo praised former CHOP chief Steve Altschuler for backing Spark in its crucial early years, and added that CHOP will benefit with better treatments as well as cash. Spark Therapeutics CEO Jeffrey D. Marrazzo acknowledged this fact. Now Philadelphia rivals the Boston and San Francisco areas as cradles of U.S. gene therapies, Esptein says.

The Ascent is The Motley Fool's new personal finance brand devoted to helping you live a richer life. “But it all depends on how you design it, and what you are trying to achieve.” More than 3,000 Philadelphia-area workers labor for cell and gene therapy companies, according to a year-old survey. “I am very interested in staying the course and making sure in 10, in 15 years there are medicines we can bring to patients because of what we do at Spark.”, He called it "a little bittersweet” that the company founded in 2013 will now become part of a global organization, relinquishing its independence. An invaluable data source for traders & investors looking to familiarize themselves with the Roche (RHHBY) takeover of Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) and trade the merger arbitrage spread.Following the acquisition news and events section, there is in-depth company profile. Even with his own big payday, Marrazzo said he plans to stay on under Roche. Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services. It is a subsidiary of Hoffmann-La Roche History.