Roche CEO does not rule out move into rare diseases

By Natalie Huet PARIS (Reuters) – The chief executive of Roche did not rule out a move into treatments for rare diseases on Wednesday, saying the Swiss drugmaker would go where it could address unmet medical needs, even for very small numbers of patients. There has been speculation that Roche might branch out into the lucrative area of rare or so-called orphan diseases, which affect only a small number of people, after reports it was considering bids for two U.S.-based companies, Alexion Pharmaceuticals and BioMarin Pharmaceuticals. …