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 A 75 percent higher proportion of relapsing-remitting multiple
sclerosis patients reached "no evidence of disease activity" status
with Ocrevus in a head-to-head trial against Merck's Rebif, Roche
said in a statement.
Additionally, doctors found no evidence of disease progression in a
47 percent higher proportion of primary progressive multiple
sclerosis (PPMS) patients compared with a placebo. There are no
approved treatments for PPMS.
Earlier this year, Roche accelerated its timeline for Ocrevus
approval, saying it could come in 2016 after the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration gave it fast-track review status.
Analysts estimate Ocrevus, whose generic name is ocrelizumab, could
generate annual sales of nearly 4 billion Swiss francs ($4.09
billion) by 2022, according to Thomson Reuters data.
"These new data suggest that ocrelizumab consistently impacts
disease progression and has the potential to change how we approach
treating both relapsing and primary progressive MS," Gavin
Giovannoni, who heads up neurology at The London School of Medicine
and Dentistry and is on the committee leading the Roche study, said
in the statement.
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Ocrevus is among several new drugs that Roche hopes can offset
patent expiries among older medicines that will leave it more
vulnerable to competition from cheaper generic or biosimilar
medicines.
About 85 percent of those diagnosed with MS suffer from
relapsing-remitting MS, while 10 percent suffer from
primary-progressive MS.
Roche is presenting more detailed findings from the Ocrevus studies,
called Opera I and Opera II, at an MS conference in London this
week.
($1 = 0.9769 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by John Miller; editing by Jason Neely)
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