Japanese Drug Firm to Buy U.S. Company

Japan’s Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. today said it will pay about $100 million for Gen-Probe, a leading U.S. drug maker researching methods of detecting viruses and cancer.

Chugai, a major Japanese drug company specializing in anti-cancer technology, said this would be a friendly takeover. Gen-Probe is developing the promising DNA probe method for detecting AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome).