Swiss drug giant Roche has acquired Bina Technologies, a privately-owned biotech company based in California. The Bina Technologies first product was the Bina Box, a platform for secondary genomic analysis, sequence alignment, and variant calling. These techniques are used in genetic analysis, according to Bio-IT World.
Bina’s co-founder and CEO Narges Bani Asadi said in a statement: “We found great alignment between our company’s vision and values, and we are very excited about the possibilities of working with Roche’s global team and serving the academic and translational and clinical research markets together in the future.”
Dan Zabrowski, head of Roche Sequencing, echoed the sentiment: “The acquisition of Bina is a significant step for Roche to enable the promise of personalized healthcare by delivering the highest quality genomic data possible,” he said. “Informatics and data management are critical to providing a seamless, end-to-end sequencing solution. Bina’s products are designed to improve the efficiency and value of genomic analysis, and the company continues to develop new methodologies and algorithms that link [next-generation sequencing] data to disease-relevant genetic markers.”
Bina will continue to develop and market its Bina Genomic Management System, which Roche will use to process its own genomic data.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. For Roche, the move is yet another in a string of acquisitions. Recently Roche paid $489 million for antibody maker Dutalys. Back in August, Roche splashed out $450 million for a Danish biotech company that develops drugs that silence microRNAs (something considered key to tackling certain diseases). Roche also paid out $3.8 billion for InterMune, a Brisbane, California-based biotech with one key product: a treatment for a fatal lung disease.
