Roche has about $10 billion in M&A firepower it can deploy every year, but it\u2019s \u201cnot just going to spend money,\u201d the company\u2019s pharma CEO Teresa Graham said at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.<\/p>\n
Roche is fully ready to deploy the money \u201cif and when we find transformative assets that are either complementary to our portfolio or, again, change the game in important diseases outside of those focus areas,\u201d Graham said Monday.<\/p>\n
The Swiss pharma didn\u2019t spend that much on business development last year, J.P. Morgan analyst Richard Vosser noted during the Q&A session of Graham\u2019s presentation.<\/p>\n
Last fall, Roche unveiled a new pharma strategy, placing a focus on the five therapeutic areas of neurology, oncology\/hematology, immunology, ophthalmology and CVRM (cardiovascular renal metabolic).<\/p>\n
Some of Roche\u2019s recent deals in these focus areas include an antibody-drug conjugate pact<\/a> with Innovent Biologics, the $1.5 billion acquisition<\/a> of off-the-shelf CAR-T partner Poseida Therapeutics, the purchase of Wnt signaling-focused biotech AntlerA Therapeutics and the $850 million upfront licensing<\/a> of a portfolio of CDK inhibitors from China\u2019s Regor Pharmaceuticals. As Graham noted Monday, Roche has had a strong presence in China and will continue to look for assets in the country.<\/p>\n Roche wants to get in on differentiated assets with the potential to help a large number of patients around the world, Graham added.<\/p>\n