New data bolsters Roche's biosimilar defense strategy

15 June 2018

In the next five years, Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX) is likely to be hit hard by emerging competition to three of its big-selling biologics.

Rituxan/MabThera (rituximab), Avastin (bevacizumab) and Herceptin (trastuzumab) brought in around 21 billion Swiss francs ($21.3 billion) between them last year, though this was lower than in 2016, with biosimilar competition starting to bite.

The best way for Roche to combat the problem is with more effective replacements to those aging drugs, and that is exactly what the company is aiming at with new long-term data on a comparison between Gazyva (obinutuzumab), a drug known as Gazyvaro in Europe, and Rituxan.

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