by Guillaume Biétry in Basel
BASEL, Jan 28 (APM) - Roche could continue its 2014 acquisition spree this year, its chief executive Severin Schwan said on Wednesday.
He said acquisitions could allow “filling gaps” in the pipeline of products in development at the company, which was among the most active in the pharma industry in terms of targeted acquisitions in 2014.
Speaking at a press conference after announcing its full-year results (APMMA 41251), Schwan said the group would act in a “highly opportunistic” manner. “We have not determined a set number of operations to carry out over the year,” he added.
Roche is aiming for acquisitions of small companies often centred on a single product or technology in anticipation of the forthcoming arrival of biosimilars of some of its most important products.
Herceptin (trastuzumab) and MabThera/Rituxan (rituximab) lost their European patent in mid 2014 but no biosimilar versions have yet been launched. Their arrival is planned for 2017, according to Roche
The group made 10 targeted acquisitions over the last 10 months, the highlight being InterMune and its idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis treatment Esbriet (pirfenidone) in September for $8.3 billion (APMMA 39489).
Earlier this month, Roche also announced the acquisition of a majority stake in molecular and genomic analysis specialist Foundation Medicine for up to $1.18 billion (APMMA 41067).
In parallel with acquisitions, Roche is relying on a pipeline well stocked with compounds at an advanced development phase to face generic competition, particularly in the promising but highly competitive immuno-oncology sector (APMMA 40780).
It is also betting on opening up R&D beyond oncology to develop products in ophthalmology, infectious diseases and neurosciences.
Whereas 2014 was rich in approvals and extensions, R&D setbacks were also numerous, notably for gantenerumab in Phase III and crenezumab in Phase II, in Alzheimer’s disease in each case.
Roche also recorded negative results in Phase III for Kadcyla (trastuzumab emtansine) in first line in metastatic breast cancer, for bitopertin in schizophrenia and discontinued the development of onartuzumab in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
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