Roche Expects Delay to Taspoglutide on Safety Concern BusinessWeek
(Updates share prices in fifth paragraph.)
By Dermot Doherty
June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Roche Holding AG delayed development of the experimental diabetes drug taspoglutide by at least 12 to 18 months after more people than expected suffered from side effects such as skin reactions and digestive symptoms.
Some patients also experienced heart and respiratory problems, though everyone recovered without complications, the Basel, Switzerland-based company said today in an e-mailed statement. Roche said it needs additional time to identify the people more likely to be sensitive to the medicine and to remove them from clinical trials.
The delay is a setback for Roche’s efforts to expand outside of cancer drugs, which account for the company’s three best-selling products and about 50 percent of pharmaceutical sales. Roche had planned to ask regulators to approve the diabetes drug, which it licensed from Ipsen SA in 2006, next year. The once-weekly injection would compete with the twice- daily Byetta shot from Eli Lilly & Co. and Amylin Inc., as well as Novo Nordisk A/S’s Victoza.
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