Roche convinced its new drugs can mitigate biosimilars risks

[November 05, 2015]  By John Miller

ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche plans launches or pivotal data for up to nine new medicines in the next three years, saying it is "absolutely convinced" these products will offset risks posed by copycat versions of its older drugs.

The Swiss drugmaker is banking on new products to treat bladder and lung cancer, multiple sclerosis and hemophilia, among others, to offset competition from copycat, or biosimilar, versions of its older drugs once their patents start to expire in 2017.

Investors in Roche's shares have fretted that biosimilars will eat into the drugmaker's business and that some of the company's high-stakes trials could fail, but Daniel O'Day, chief operating officer of Roche's Pharmaceuticals Division, said he was confident the product pipeline was strong.

"I am absolutely convinced that with the strength of the portfolio, the readouts that are coming in over the next 18 months, and the opportunity to potentially launch eight or nine medicines between now and the end of 2017, we will mitigate the risk of biosimilars," O'Day told investors at an event to outline the company's strategy.

Roche's immune-system boosting atezolizumab for bladder and lung cancer, along with its ocrelizumab medicine for multiple sclerosis and its ACE-910 investigational treatment for people with hemophilia are its most anticipated prospects. They are expected to rake in combined annual sales of $5 billion by 2020, according to Thomson Reuters Cortellis.

Roche shares have been flat this year, missing out on a near 15 percent rise in the STOXX Europe pharmaceuticals index. However, Deutsche Bank analyst Tim Race said in a note to investors this week that "the pipeline has the power to more than offset" worries about biosimilar versions of Roche products.

Roche said it expects up to seven major results from clinical trials on new drugs or extensions for existing medicines through 2017. That would add to seven clinical study results released this year.

(Editing by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Susan Fenton)

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.