Roche suspends arthritis drug study after deaths
US biotechnology company Biogen Idec and Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding are suspending rheumatoid arthritis and lupus treatment ocrelizumab after it caused deaths, casting doubt over the drug's future.
Roche and Biogen stopped using the experimental drug for the two diseases after a safety monitoring board said it had seen serious infections in studies involving the drug and that some were fatal, marking the latest setback for Roche's pipeline.
Ocrelizumab, developed by Roche's Genentech unit and Biogen, is similar to Rituxan, which is already approved to treat cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.
AdvertisementAnalysts said the ocrelizumab setback actually benefits Biogen because it allows the company to maintain a profit sharing percentage on Rituxan that otherwise would have been reduced had the follow-on drug progressed.
Roche said last year a late-stage trial of ocrelizumab showed it significantly reduced the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, a painful joint disease, but that it was associated with a higher number of serious infections.
The drug was expected to succeed Rituxan when its patent expires. Rituxan records sales of around 900 million Swiss francs ($841.9m) in rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease characterised by inflammation that leads to stiff, swollen and painful joints It affects some 20 million people, according to the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society.
Ocrelizumab is still being evaluated for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and a Phase II study is on-going, Roche said.
Roche, the world's largest maker of cancer drugs, suffered a setback last month when its cancer drug Avastin failed in a late-stage stomach cancer trial.
Source: Associated Press
3/8/10