Fierce Biotech reports that Roche has suspended its trial with the highly touted diabetes drug taspoglutide. Only a few months ago, Roche CEO Severin Schwan was highlighting taspoglutide as a best in class drug during Roche's pipeline review.
Roche expects Taspoglutide to be a blockbuster that will outcompete Amylin's recently approved Bydureon. However, the late stage trials have now been suspended for an expected 18 months due to patients experiencing hypersensitivity reactions, stomach pain, heart and respiratory symptoms.
Roche's plans for filing in 2011 are gone and the company may now have to wait until 2014 for approval (if ever). The delay has caused industry analysts to revise sales for this drug in 2014 down from $2.8 billion annually to a mere $490 M. That's a big bump in the road.
Posted by Bruce Lehr June 18th 2010.
A WSJ article this morning casts considerable doubt as to whether this drug will ever be approved due to side effect concerns.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100628-703568.html
Posted by: bigredbruce | 06/28/2010 at 08:54 AM
Ed Silverman provides some more information from his Pharmalot blog.
http://bit.ly/ai1yB4
Posted by: bigredbruce | 06/19/2010 at 02:55 PM