Roche Says MS Drug Ocrevus Launch Its 'Best So Far', Vows To Help US Reform
Executive Summary
Roche said MS drug Ocrevus should generate sales of CHF2bn in its first full year after launch. The Swiss group also pledged to actively help the Trump Administration with its healthcare reform program.
Strong product launches and continued good performances by its three legacy oncology drugs let Roche unveil third-quarter sales that beat market forecasts and gave the Swiss drug maker added confidence it can grow through the looming wave of biosimilar competition to old blockbusters like MabThera/Rituxan (rituximab) and Herceptin (trastuzumab).
CEO Severin Schwan singled out one drug in particular when presenting Roche's latest quarterly results on Oct. 17: its multiple sclerosis therapy Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), describing it as "the most successful launch in the history of Roche."
"Ocrevus will achieve over CHF2bn in the first full year after launch. This is the most successful launch in the history of Roche." - CEO Severin Schwan
The company also said it would continue to engage with US President Trump's administration over healthcare reform, saying it had already "put its money where its mouth is" by discounting prices of recent drug launches there.
Mix Of Old And New Drugs
The Swiss group's newest MS drug, which launched 18 months ago in the US, joined forces in the latest quarter with other new product launches like monoclonal antibody Perjeta (pertuzumab), antibody-drug conjugate Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine), anti-CD20 antibody Gazyva (obinutuzumab), second-generation ALK inhibitor Alecensa (alectinib), PD-L1 inhibitor Tecentriq (atezolizumab) and hemophilia therapy Hemlibra (emicizumab) to generate 20% of pharma sales during the latest quarter and "90% of the revenue growth," Schwan said.
The combination of legacy drugs and new therapies allowed Roche to deliver pharma sales of CHF13,969m ($14.1bn), representing growth of 7% year on year at constant exchange rates.
The performance builds on the company's half-way results performance unveiled in July and allowed Roche to reconfirm its full-year guidance for mid-single-digit sales growth and mid-teens core EPS growth at constant exchange rates. (Also see "Roche Says New Drugs Can Allow Safe Navigation Despite Biosimilar Threats" - Scrip, 26 Jul, 2018.)
Ocrevus Launch Lauded
The CEO chose to underscore the quarterly performance of MS drug Ocrevus during a conference call with journalists.
The drug, launched in the US in March 2017, is now the number one prescribed treatment for patients starting a new MS therapy in the country.
"The treatment has now been provided to over 70,000 people and sales have reached almost CHF1.7bn for the first nine months," CEO Schwan told a media conference call, adding: "Ocrevus will achieve over CHF2bn in the first full year after launch. This is the most successful launch in the history of Roche."
The drug has 12% market share in the US and the launch trajectory seen in the US is expected to be mirrored in Europe, where it was approved in January this year. (Also see "All Systems Go as Roche MS Drug Ocrevus Secures EU Okay At Last" - Scrip, 12 Jan, 2018.)
Schwan said the drug's commercial and therapeutic success "really comes down to the benefit/risk profile of this medicine."
"If you look at the traditional treatment pattern in Ocrevus, typically patients would start with less efficacious medicines with a very good side-effect profile and then later on patients used to take medicines which were more efficacious but had more side-effects. What is special with Ocrevus is that it is very, very efficacious while at the same time has a very good side-effect profile. This combination really triggers a paradigm shift in the treatment in multiple sclerosis in that now doctors use a biologic like Ocrevus in patients at a much earlier stage. That's why we're seeing such a high demand both from patients and physicians."
The head of Roche's pharma division Daniel O'Day said the "return rate" of MS patients for treatment with Ocrevus has been "as expected", and added that "the convenience of only coming twice a year for treatment and the efficacy and tolerability profile of this medicine make it even more likely that we'll get patients to return."
Helping US Healthcare Reform
O'Day said Roche understood the rationale behind moves by the US administration to reform the provision of healthcare there.
"We understand and appreciate the healthcare system in the US is in need of changes and adjustments to be able to accommodate the changing nature of the patient population in the United States." - Roche Pharma Head Daniel O'Day
"We understand and appreciate the healthcare system in the US is in need of changes and adjustments to be able to accommodate the changing nature of the patient population in the United States," he told journalists.
"We're a part of that solution by providing transformational medicines and are working with the current administration on ideas around some of their reform programs and doing so not only through an active dialogue; we have shown through action that we're thoughtful about the pricing of our new medicines."
He said Roche had been pricing new medicines lower than existing ones. "The last seven medicines launched in the United States have actually been priced at or less than the medicines that they've been shown to provide a significant difference to. This is important, because we feel that our medicines are only really effective if they get to the patients in need."
"So we want to roll up our sleeves here and work with the administration to find new and innovative ways to get these transformational medicines to patients. We certainly think that in the coming months and years that dialogue will continue and Roche will be a part of it."
The last seven products launched by Roche in the US are idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis drug Esbriet (pirfenidone), Alecensa, BRAF inhibitor Cotellic (cobimetinib), BCL-2 inhibitor Venclexta (venetoclax), Tecentriq, Ocrevus and Hemlibra.