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A pediatric hospital spinout responsible for bringing to market in the United States the first gene therapy for treating an inherited disease has been acquired by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche. Spark Therapeutics, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia startup, in 2017 received US Food and Drug Administration approval for Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec-rzyl) to treat an inherited form of retinal dystrophy (Nat. Biotechnol.36, 6, 2018). The February 25 deal values the five-and-a-half year-old Spark at $4.8 billion, more than twice the company’s market valuation before the announcement. Basel-based Roche will keep its target at arm’s length in an attempt to preserve what made it an attractive target in the first place, saying that Spark will continue to operate as an independent gene therapy specialist out of its Philadelphia headquarters.