Roche to Acquire Flatiron Health for $1.9 Billion to Bolster Real-World Oncology Data Platform

Recently, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche announced that it would acquire New York-based Health company for $1.9 billion. The company is dedicated to applying big data in the medical field.

It is reported that Roche now holds a 12% stake in Flatiron, totalingFlatiron'sThe transaction value is $2.1 billion.

Flatiron was co-founded by Nat Turner and Zach Weinberg, two young entrepreneurs who previously sold a startup to Google for $81 million. Subsequently, they sought to pursue an endeavor with greater social value. In 2015, Turner was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

“For both us and Flatiron, this means we will accelerate the achievement of our goals,” said Turner. “We will gain access to more resources and continue to collaborate with all stakeholders, but this does not represent a significant change for the company; it simply provides a larger platform.”

Dan O’Day, CEO of Roche’s Pharmaceuticals Division, has served on Flatiron’s board of directors for many years. By the end of 2017, Flatiron had secured more than $300 million in financing but still sought to raise additional capital. Turner stated that he began to realize what the company needed was not money, but resources. Consequently, around Thanksgiving, he and Roche initiated discussions that ultimately led to the deal.

Flatiron DataFrom more than 265 community clinics andOver 800EHRs of Academic Institutions.Its big data can be leveraged to accelerate drug development and, in certain cases, replace aspects of the clinical trial process. Patients are randomly assigned to a treatment regimen for comparative purposes. Under pressure from Congress, the U.S. FDA has expanded the scope of data application and expressed interest in incorporating “real-world data” into the drug approval process. The FDA is also one of Flatiron’s partners.

“O’Day of Roche said, ‘This is an important step forward in Roche’s personalized medicine strategy. We believe that regulatory-grade real-world data is a key factor in accelerating cancer treatment.’”

It is reported that Roche acquired cancer drug manufacturer Ignyta for $1.7 billion at the end of 2017. The pharmaceutical giant places significant emphasis on big data, aiming to leverage it to defend its dominant position in the field of oncology.

Source: Forbes

Author: Matthew Herper