Roche has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of GlycArt Biotechnology AG, a privately owned Swiss biotech company. GlycArt’s unique technology for enhancing the efficacy of antibodies will further strengthen Roche’s expertise in therapeutic antibody research and development, a company release stated here.

“This acquisition is an excellent strategic fit with our Therapeutic Protein Initiative and our focus on developing clinically differentiated proteins and antibodies for areas of unmet medical need, such as oncology” said Franz B. Humer, Chairman and CEO of the Roche Group.

GlycArt owns the proprietary GlycoMAb glycosylation technology which is a method of increasing the potency of therapeutic antibodies targeting undesirable cells by engineering the carbohydrate component present in all such antibodies. In particular, GlycoMAb specifically increases antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), an immune effector mechanism crucial for the in vivo target-cell killing activity of antibodies. GlycoMAb thus has the potential to generate best-in- class antibody therapeutics in disease areas such as oncology, where Roche is the global market leader. In addition Roche will acquire GlycArt’s development pipeline which includes three monoclonal antibodies in preclinical development for cancer, the release says.

Roche plans to maintain the GlycArt facility in Zurich-Schlieren as a fully integrated part of the Roche Pharma research organisation.

Roche will pay approximately 235 million Swiss francs in cash in exchange for all of GlycArt’s outstanding capital stock. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2005.