Davis Polk & Wardwell is advising Roche on its $125 million acquisition of Mirus Bio Corporation. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close during the second half of 2008

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world’s leading research-focused health care groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Mirus Bio is a privately owned Madison, Wisconsin-based company that focuses on the discovery and development of innovative nucleic acid-based technologies, including a proprietary RNAi (Ribonucleic Acid interference) delivery platform.

The Davis Polk corporate team includes partner Marc O. Williams, associates James E. Elworth and Christopher L. Beals (not yet admitted) and foreign temporary associate David Raudkivi (not yet admitted), all of the New York office. Partner Steven S. Weiner and associates Stefan Quick and Joshua M. Kaplan, all of the New York office, and associates Vishnu Reddy and Emma Maconick (admitted only in the High Court of New Zealand and the Supreme Court of England and Wales) of the Menlo Park office, are providing intellectual property advice. Partner Jean M. McLoughlin and associate Sonesh S. Chainani of the New York office, and summer associate Joanna Geneve of the London office, are providing employment advice. The tax team includes partner Michael Mollerus and associate Christine E. Graham (not yet admitted) of the New York office. Partner Gail A. Flesher and associate Brianne M. Lucyk of the New York office are providing environmental advice. Partner Joel M. Cohen and associate Edward N. Moss of the New York office are providing antitrust advice.