Roche's Breast Cancer Drug Trial Fails

(RTTNews) - Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG (RHHBY.PK) on Friday said a late-stage trial of its breast cancer drug Kadcyla did not provide superior results compared with an existing therapy.

Following the announcement, Roche shares slid more than 3 percent in Switzerland.

The late-stage study, dubbed MARIANNE, evaluated three HER2-targeted regimens - Kadcyla plus Perjeta, Kadcyla alone, and Herceptin plus taxane chemotherapy - in people with previously untreated advanced HER2-positive breast cancer.

According to Roche, the study showed the three regimens helped people live without their disease worsening (PFS) for a similar amount of time, but neither Kadcyla-containing treatment arm significantly improved PFS compared with Herceptin plus chemotherapy.

Adverse events observed in the two experimental arms of the study were generally consistent with those seen in previous studies of Kadcyla and/or Perjeta.

Roche said the results do not impact approved uses of Kadcyla or Perjeta in advanced HER2-positive breast cancer.

The Phase III MARIANNE study is a randomized, multicenter, three-arm study involving 1,095 people with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer.

The announcement also had a cascading effect on ImmunoGen Inc, whose shares fell 44 percent in the U.S, as Kadcyla includes a proprietary cancer-killing agent that is produced by ImmunoGen.

Herceptin is one of Roche's key drugs, but which will lose patent protection in the European Union next year.

Roche also said it was halting a study of gantenerumab, a drug to treat patients with early Alzheimer's disease as its safety was similar to that in an earlier study. In Switzerland, Roche stock slid 10.30 euros or 3.66% at 271.00 euros on a volume of 5.6 million shares.