Roche to Buy 89bio for Up to $3.5 Billion in Obesity Push (3)

Roche Holding AG agreed to buy biopharmaceutical company 89bio Inc. for as much as $3.5 billion, another acquisition to position itself in the booming market to treat obesity and related illnesses.

89bio, which develops therapies for metabolic diseases, has a key drug in late-stage development for a condition called MASH, which occurs when too much fat builds up in the liver.

Roche is snapping up companies to carve a position in obesity and metabolic diseases, a field dominated by Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co. MASH, seen as a multibillion-dollar opportunity, has lured drugmakers from GSK Plc to ...