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 Roche said on Friday the EU backed Ocrevus for relapsing forms of
multiple sclerosis and primary progressive multiple sclerosis, a
form of the neurological disease that previously was without an
approved medicine.
Through September 2017, Ocrevus racked up $500 million in revenue.
Roche will report full-year sales of the medicine approved last
March 29 in the United States when it delivers 2017 figures on Feb.
1.
Roche Chief Executive Severin Schwan is counting on Ocrevus revenue
to help offset sales declines from his big three cancer drugs
Rituxan, Herceptin and Avastin that combine now for about $20
billion annually but are losing patent protection and face intense
competition from rivals' cheaper copies.
"Until Ocrevus, people with primary progressive MS -- who often have
to rely on a cane or wheelchair, give up work or have carers look
after them -- have not had an approved treatment to slow the
progression of their disease," Gavin Giovannoni, a neurology
professor at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
who has worked with Roche on studying the drug, said in Roche's
statement.
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Ocrevus is administered every six months and costs around $65,000
per year before discounts in the United States, a price below that
of Merck's Rebif. In trials, Ocrevus outperformed Rebif in relapsing
MS.
(Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields)
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