Roche subsidiary opens new research facility

MADISON, Wis. A subsidiary of Swiss drug maker Roche announced Thursday that it opened a new research facility with chemistry and biology labs at the University of Wisconsin Research Park in Madison, Wis.

Part of Roche’s RNA Therapeutics group, Roche Madison focuses its research on the discovery and development of nucleic acid-based technologies, including a proprietary delivery platform that uses RNAi to “silence” genes, representing a potential new class of therapeutics for treating difficult diseases.

“The presence of the new Roche research site within the University of Wisconsin Research Park represents a win-win situation for both Roche employees and for the Madison economy overall – and it further validates that the high-quality research being performed by the Madison scientific community is being recognized by the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies,” Roche Madison VP operations Jim Hagstrom said in a statement.

The site has 45 staff members and plans to hire more over the next six months to a year as part of its planned expansion.