Roche plans to steer clear of the wave of big takeovers sweeping through the healthcare industry and focus instead on small acquisitions and partnerships, the Swiss drugmaker's chief executive said in an interview published on Saturday. "We're sticking to our previous strategy. This includes targeted, small acquisitions and partnerships like the ones we have carried out in recent months," Severin Schwan told business newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft.
Several multi-billion dollar deals and bids over the past few months have made 2014 a busy year for healthcare acquisitions as companies look to build scale in leading businesses or slash their tax bill, a tactic known as inversion. On Friday, US drugmaker AbbVie Inc finally clinched Dublin-based Shire Plc in a $55 billion deal that will give it access to expensive medicines to treat rare diseases. But since acquiring the remainder of US biotech company Genentech for $46.8 billion in 2009, Roche has earned a reputation as a disciplined acquirer, prepared to walk away from potential deals rather than overpay.
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