BASEL – Pharmaceutical giant Roche Holding said Tuesday it would buy the US gene therapy company Mirus Bio Corp. for USD 125 million (CHF 126.9 million).

The Madison, Wisconsin-based company is developing RNAi, or gene silencing, a technology that uses mechanisms within the body to target and "turn off" certain genes associated with cancer and other diseases.

Shares in Roche were down 0.23 percent at CHF 170.60 in Zurich.

Roche said it would maintain a RNAi research site in Madison after the takeover. The move is expected to be completed during the second half of this year, Roche said.

In 2007, Roche acquired rights for the gene-silencing technology of Biotechnology company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc as part of a deal potentially worth USD 1 billion.

[AP / Expatica]