Roche said Thursday that its Wegovy rival weight loss drugs will be part of a suite of medicines aimed at combatting the effects of obesity. CEO Thomas Schinecker welcomed positive early stage trial results from the firm's two weight loss drug candidates as showing "best in disease potential." He added that they will form part of a wider portfolio aimed at differentiating the Swiss pharmaceutical giant from other competitors in the growing obesity medication market. "We have a number of things in our pipeli ...

Core Insights - Roche's strong sales growth in the first half of 2024 is attributed to high demand for innovative medicines and diagnostics, with a notable acceleration in growth momentum in the second quarter as COVID-19 sales declines no longer impacted overall sales [1] - The company has raised its earnings outlook for the full year based on robust half-year results [1] Financial Performance - Group sales reached CHF 29.8 billion, a 5% increase at constant exchange rates (CER), remaining stable in CHF [3][13] - Pharmaceuticals Division sales were CHF 22.6 billion, also up by 5% at CER, with a core operating profit increase of 11% [2][17] - Core earnings per share grew by 9% (1% in CHF), while IFRS net income decreased by 4% (-11% in CHF) due to impairments and prior year provisions [4][13] Product Performance - The eye medicine Vabysmo was a major growth driver, generating CHF 1.8 billion in sales, with significant demand in the US [5][6] - Sales in the Diagnostics Division increased by 5% to CHF 7.2 billion, with a 9% growth in the base business driven by immunodiagnostic products [8][13] - Sales growth was reported across all regions, with Latin America showing a notable 16% increase [9] Regional Sales Insights - In the US, sales grew by 5%, driven by Vabysmo and other key products, despite declines in some older medicines [6][19] - European sales surged by 10%, primarily due to Vabysmo demand [19] - Sales in Japan decreased by 28%, largely due to the previous year's COVID-19 product supply effects [7] Regulatory Developments - The FDA approved updates to Susvimo, providing a new treatment option for severe eye diseases [10] - Vabysmo received a positive recommendation for a third indication, retinal vein occlusion (RVO) [11] - The European Commission approved Ocrevus subcutaneous injection, expanding treatment options for multiple sclerosis [37] Future Outlook - Roche anticipates mid-single-digit growth in Group sales for 2024 [14] - The company plans to further increase its dividend in Swiss francs [15]

However, the two market leaders could have significant competition on the way. Roche Holding (RHHBY 0.23%) underscored this last week with a major clinical study update. Shares of Lilly and Novo Nordisk fell on the news, while Roche's shares jumped nearly 6%. Could Roche be the obesity drug stock to really watch? Patients receiving CT-996 experienced weight loss of 7.3% after four weeks of treatment. Roche stated this result was "clinically meaningful" compared to the 1.2% weight loss for patients receiving ...

This company hasn't made its debut on the weight-loss market yet, but it may. First things first. Appreciate that Roche's weight-loss pill program is currently in phase 1 clinical trials. The first two parts of the three-part trial are done, and the third hasn't started yet. It will need plenty more research and development (R&D) work before it's ready to submit to regulators for approval, assuming it ever is. Any early results may or may not be substantiated by subsequent clinical investigations. Another m ...

Notably, RHHBY stock has underperformed the broader market in each of the last 3 years. Returns for the stock were 18% in 2021, -24% in 2022, and -7% in 2023. In comparison, returns for the S&P 500 have been 27% in 2021, -19% in 2022, and 24% in 2023 — indicating that RHHBY underperformed the S&P in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Roche's revenue has declined 7.2% from $72.4 billion in 2021 to $67.2 billion in 2023. This can primarily be attributed to lower demand for its Covid-19 testing. Excluding the Covid-19 prod ...

Shares of several obesity-focused stocks dropped on Wednesday after Swiss pharma giant Roche (RHHBY) announced positive top-line results from an early-stage study on its experimental obesity drug CT-996. Both these incretin-based candidates were added to Roche's pipeline from the acquisition of privately owned Carmot Therapeutics for $2.7 billion in January. The acquisition also added CT-868, a once-daily, subcutaneously injected drug, which is being developed in a mid-stage study as a first-in-class treatm ...

Two-year Phase III data presented at ASRS 2024 show Susvimo's potential as an alternative to eye injections to treat diabetic macular edema (DME) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) Safety data were consistent with the known safety profile for Susvimo in people with DME and DR Additionally, the US FDA has accepted the filing application for Susvimo in DME and DR based on one-year Pagoda and Pavilion study data Susvimo is a unique therapeutic approach that provides continuous delivery of medicine to the eye throug ...

Roche has a new GLP-1 weight loss drug in the works -- and one very cheap stock. A simpler dosage method Is Roche stock a buy? But good news for Roche is bad news for the companies that now seem to have the weight-loss drug market to themselves. Shares of Eli Lilly (LLY -2.62%) were down 2.8% today, and Novo Nordisk (NVO -3.51%) lost 4%. This isn't great news for Lilly and Novo Nordisk, both of which have blockbuster GLP-1 drugs on the market -- Zepbound and Mounjaro for Lilly, and Ozempic and Wegovy for No ...

Roche has a robust Phase III clinical development programme for Vabysmo. The programme includes AVONELLE-X (NCT04777201), an extension study of TENAYA (NCT03823287) and LUCERNE (NCT03823300), evaluating the long-term safety and tolerability of Vabysmo in neovascular or 'wet' agerelated macular degeneration (nAMD).17 Roche has also initiated several Phase IV studies, including the ELEVATUM (NCT05224102) study of Vabysmo in underrepresented patient populations with diabetic macular edema, the SALWEEN study of ...

Roche announced strong early stage data from its weight-loss drug CT-996. The once-daily pill delivered placebo-adjusted mean weight loss of 6.1% in obesity patients without diabetes. CT-996 represent possible competition to popular weight-loss drugs Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound. Roche Added Drug To Pipeline With Carmot Therapeutics Acquisition tips@investopedia.com A new non-injectable weight-loss drug from Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche Holding AG has shown encouraging early stage data, ...