(Bloomberg) -- Roche Holding AG is extremely optimistic that its latest experimental Alzheimer’s drug will deliver a benefit for patients, Chief Executive Officer Thomas Schinecker said, despite a track record of failures in the field.
Roche’s newest experimental Alzheimer’s drug, dubbed brain shuttle because of its technology for slipping past the protective blood-brain barrier, has already shown to be extremely effective at breaking up the amyloid plaques that are a hallmark of the disease, Schinecker said. The drugmaker will present its latest data from a closely scrutinized patient trial next week at the CTAD medical conference in Madrid.
“We already know this will work,” Schinecker said in an interview on Wednesday with Bloomberg Television. “I would say the likelihood is pretty high. Of course there is no guarantee in life.”
Roche is relying on its portfolio of experimental medicines to kick-start growth through the end of this decade after a more than yearlong overhaul of its research and development units. Failures in Alzheimer’s disease were among the setbacks that soured some investors on the company’s R&D strategy in recent years. In response, Schinecker pared the pipeline and pledged to move more quickly on promising projects, including a challenge to Novo Nordisk A/S in the growing market for obesity treatments.
The immediate revamp is done, and Roche is now “transitioning into more normal portfolio management and prioritization,” Schinecker said on a call with journalists.
Third-quarter sales rose 9% to 15.1 billion Swiss francs ($17.5 billion), the Basel, Switzerland-based company said, slightly topping expectations thanks to its eye drug Vabysmo as well as medicines for cancer, hemophilia and multiple sclerosis.
Momentum
“We’re very confident that we can carry this momentum toward the end of this year but also into the next year,” Schinecker said in the TV interview.
The shares climbed 0.6% in early trading in Zurich. Roche has gained 12% so far this year, trailing the 14% rise in the Bloomberg Europe 500 Pharmaceuticals Index.
Roche pointed to five pharmaceutical sales drivers in the past quarter: Vabysmo, breast cancer drug Phesgo, multiple sclerosis treatment Ocrevus, hemophilia medicine Hemlibra and Polivy, a drug for blood cancer. Together, the medicines brought in 4.6 billion francs of revenue in the period, a 21% increase from the year before.
Cancer drug Tecentriq, however, has probably reached its peak in sales, Schinecker said.
The company will provide testing kits for mpox as the disease continues to spread, he added.
Roche confirmed its forecast that adjusted earnings per share will rise in a high-single-digit percentage range at constant exchange rates this year, with sales rising in the mid-single-digit range.
--With assistance from Guy Johnson and Anna Edwards.
(Retops with CEO comments from interview)
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