FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Roche said ongoing trials of Alzheimer’s disease drug candidate gantenerumab are designed to provide unequivocal results on efficacy as controversy continues in the United States over the benefits of a rival’s approved drug.
“Our strategy is to deliver unequivocal efficacy,” the head of Roche’s pharmaceuticals division, William Anderson, told journalists in a call covering 2021 results.
“Our goal is … to deliver a knock-out blow on the disease in a way that is really compelling and clear,” he said, citing the large size and long duration of two ongoing late-stage trials.
Analysts are expecting trial read-outs in the second half of the year.
U.S. Medicare plans to sharply limit coverage of Biogen’s already-approved Aduhelm drug for the brain-wasting disease, deepening a debate over the evidence of its usefulness.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Miranda Murray)
