Timely results on Herceptin successor presented by Roche

Roche (ROG: SIX) might be facing increased competition to its well-established breast cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab), but the Swiss pharma giant is not sitting still as biosimilars start to take market share.

The company has announced that its Phase III KATHERINE study met its primary endpoint, showing Kadcyla (trastuzumab emtansine) as a single agent significantly reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death compared to Herceptin as an adjuvant treatment in people with HER2-positive early breast cancer who have residual disease present following neoadjuvant treatment.

Sandra Horning, Roche’s chief medical officer and head of global product development, said: “We look forward to discussions with regulatory authorities with the goal of bringing this new treatment option to patients as soon as possible.”