It all started at F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. To be more precise, it all started in the cardiovascular research program at the Basel, Switzerland-based pharmaceutical giant. The founders of Actelion Ltd. led that unit, Axovan AG founders cut their teeth there, and each company has licensed molecules originally discovered in Roche's labs. Now they are joining forces in a cash-based deal that could eventually be worth up to CHF252 million (US$191.9 million) to Axovan shareholders. (BioWorld International)