Roche says its arthritis drug more effective

Roche Holding AG’s MabThera was more effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients than other drugs with a more traditional mode of action, the Swiss drugmaker said on Wednesday.

When patients do not respond to a drug targeting a protein called tumor necrosis factor, or TNF, it is then more effective to treat them with MabThera than with a second TNF inhibitor, according to data presented at a European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) meeting in Paris.

MabThera is known as Rituxan in the United States, where it is marketed by Genentech Inc and Biogen Idec Inc, and is Roche’s top-selling drug.

Currently used against cancer, Roche hopes to expand use of MabThera against autoimmune diseases like RA.

“Until now, patients who failed one TNF inhibitor were often switched to another,” said Landsbanki Kepler analyst Denise Anderson.

“The data showing that Rituxan might be a better option could significantly boost sales of Rituxan in RA, which we currently forecast could reach 1.6 billion Swiss francs ($1.54 billion) by 2011,” Anderson said.

Roche stock rose 1.0 percent to 179.60 francs by 3:19 a.m. EDT, ahead of a 0.1 percent gain in the European pharmaceuticals sector.

Drugs that target the TNF protein have helped revolutionize treatment of RA, but up to 40 percent of patients do not get an adequate response.

The study looked at 300 patients who had previously not responded to treatment with a TNF inhibitor, Roche said in a statement.

Separately, data from a second study presented at EULAR showed that MabThera significantly slowed the progression of joint damage caused by RA over two years in patients who did not respond to TNF inhibitor therapy.

By Sam Cage
ZURICH (Reuters)