By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Roche Chief Executive Severin Schwan said Friday the company’s surprisingly low hostile $86.50-per-share offer for biotech giant Genentech Inc. is fairly priced and he is confident that the Swiss drugmaker can get enough financing to complete it. The offer jolted investors, who had been expecting Roche to comeback from its failed $89-per-share bid in July with something near $100. Even as world markets collapsed, analysts continued forecasting such an offer. “Since then, the world has changed,” Schwan said in a interview Friday, referring to what is shaping up to be a worldwide recession. Schwan, who took the reins of the 113-year-old Swiss company a year ago, said he is confident that Genentech shareholders will view the offer favorably. Still, many see the $86.50 bid as a negotiating tactic meant to force Genentech’s board back to the table for talks. Roche already owns about 56 percent of Genentech but would have to buy the rest through the approval of minority shareholders, according to the companies’ partnership. The big unknown for the market is upcoming study data on the blockbuster cancer drug Avastin. While the drug is already approved for colon cancer, an upcoming study on the condition that could expand its use could also boost or sink shares. If the latter happens, several analysts have said, $86.50 could seem like a good deal for shareholders. “If successful, we think the stock’s post-data valuation will reflect the consensus view of adjuvant colon market, which is bigger than ours,” Deutsche Bank equity research analyst Mark Schoenebaum said in a note to investors. “In the event of failure, however, top line growth will be sluggish.” Adjuvant therapy refers to when a drug is given to patients in order to keep the condition from returning after initial treatment. Roche has yet to formally make its tender offer but plans to in the next two weeks. Genentech has said it would respond when the tender offer is formally made, but has already said it is disappointed in the hostile move by Roche. “We’ve tried very diligently to agree on a negotiated transaction. Unfortunately we didn’t come to an agreement,” Schwan said. But he added that Roche’s doors are “always open” to negotiations, though the company would not comment on whether there is any contact between the two companies right now. Acquiring Genentech would fit into the Roche’s broader strategy of advancing more targeted treatments for various conditions. While Roche’s pharmaceutical division brought in about $36 billion in revenue in 2008, the company’s diagnostics unit had about $9.7 billion in revenue. “We are in a unique position by having pharmaceuticals and diagnostics under one roof,” he said. “It is those capabilities which will allow us to leverage the two areas, which will help us tailor medicines to more individuals.” A Genentech buyout would also give Roche more control over a massive research and development pipeline at Genentech, which is mostly focused on cancer treatments. Avastin is already approved as a treatment for breast, colon and lung cancer, and it is currently being studied as a possible treatment for 30 types of tumor. The World Health Organization expects cancer to overtake heart disease as the world’s most deadly condition by 2010. Though a grim statistic, it makes the development and sale of treatments an important market. Roche has said it would keep a hands-off approach to Genentech if acquired, allowing it to operate independently. Some have speculated that an acquisition could change the culture at Genentech, a biotech pioneer with a culture centered on science, and could lead to researchers leaving. “We have huge respect for Genentech,” Schwan said. “This is a great company with a great culture and great scientists, and we will do everything to nurture this culture.” Roche’s drug chief said an acquisition would allow for a freer approach to drug development by taking away legal and patent hurdles the partners currently face when working on a program. “If we can get the patent lawyers protecting the outer walls of the fort, then allow the juices to flow between these folks (scientists), I think we’ll be in a much richer environment,” said William Burns, CEO of Roche’s pharmaceutical division.