Roche and Spark Therapeutics agreed to extend the deadline for Roche's $4.3 billion takeover bid for the U.S. gene therapy specialist.
The new deadline for both companies to extend the merger agreement is now April 30, 2020, rather than Jan. 31, 2020, Roche said in a U.S. regulatory filing.
This is not the first (nor the second) delay, as Roche continues to blame blames time-consuming U.S. Federal Trade Commission scrutiny of potential competition issues. In early April, Roche had extended its offer until May 2. Later that month, the drugmakers announced another extension, with the same terms and conditions, until June 3. In June, the expiration date of Roche's offer was extended until late July.
The biggest selling point for Roche in the deal is Spark's one approved medicine, the $850,000 per patient hereditary blindness therapy, Luxturna.
Read the press release