Roche Says Hemophilia Drug Reduces Bleeding in Late-Stage Trial
22 December 2016 - 9:37PM
Dow Jones News
By Denise Roland
Roche Holding AG (ROG) said its experimental hemophilia drug
succeeded in a late-stage clinical trial, a result that could see
the Swiss healthcare giant grab a slice of a market currently
dominated by Shire PLC (SHPG) and Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO).
Basel, Switzerland-based Roche said its drug, known as
emicizumab or ACE910, significantly reduced bleeding in patients
with a complicated form of haemophilia A--a rare disease that
impairs the body's ability to form blood clots--when given as a
preventative treatment.
The drug targets the roughly 20% of hemophilia A patients who
have developed inhibitors to standard therapy. Those patients are
currently given so-called inhibitor therapy, a market which is
currently dominated by Shire.
Peter Welford, analyst at Jefferies, said he expected sales of
Shire's inhibitor therapy Feiba to decline 5% to 7% each year
following the launch of ACE910.
Still, given that ACE910 targets only a narrow population of
hemophilia A patients, Mr. Welford said he expected Shire's overall
hemophilia franchise to grow thanks to its products aimed at the
majority of patients who have not developed resistance to standard
therapy.
The threat of Roche's ACE910 therapy was a major concern for
investors when Shire acquired Baxalta for around $32 billion
earlier this year. But Shire chief executive Flemming Ornskov
argues that hemophilia patients are reluctant to switch therapies
when they are well-controlled on their current treatment.
Hemophilia affects around 20,000 people in the U.S., according
to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control. Around four in
five of those cases have hemophilia A.
Roche shares were up 0.4% to $227.79 at 1050GMT. Shire shares
were down 0.32%.
Write to Denise Roland at denise.roland@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 22, 2016 05:22 ET (10:22 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024