Roche buys rights to Oryzon’s cancer-suppressing gene drug

Roche has bought the rights to an experimental drug from Spain's Oryzon Genomics that can switch on genes to block cancer growth, as the Swiss drugmaker looks to maintain its dominance in the lucrative field of oncology. The world's largest maker of cancer drugs will pay Barcelona-based Oryzon $21 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments and could pay out more than $500 million if the company meets other goals, it said in a statement on Monday. The deal will give Roche rights to Oryzon's experimental drug ORY-1001 which was granted orphan drug status by European health regulators last year and is currently in early-stage clinical testing for acute myeloid leukaemia. Roche will also pay up to mid-double digit percentage royalties if the drug makes it to market.