By Helena Smolak
Roche said a Parkinson's disease experimental drug missed its primary goal in a mid-stage trial, the second setback this week for candidate treatments for the neurodegenerative condition.
The update from the Swiss pharmaceutical giant came after Belgian peer UCB said a similar drug candidate for Parkinson's developed jointly with Novartis failed to meet key goals in a clinical trial.
Roche said Thursday that its drug candidate, prasinezumab, didn't delay progression of motor symptoms in the trial, which included early-stage Parkinson's patients, to an extent considered statistically significant.
However, the company said the drug did show potential clinical efficacy, as well as positive trends on several other goals of the trial, and was well tolerated. Roche will continue to evaluate the data and work together with health authorities to decide on next steps, it said.
"We believe the consistent efficacy trends from the Phase IIb study of prasinezumab merit further exploration," Roche's Chief Medical Officer Levi Garraway said.
The results of the study, with an extended patient group of 586, were in line with those of a previous Roche mid-stage trial that also delivered mixed results earlier this year.
Parkinson's remains incurable for now, but drugs and other therapies help slow down symptoms. Several companies are working on treatments that target a neuronal protein called alpha-synuclein found in the brain and associated with the disease.
Nearly 1 million people in the U.S. and more than 10 million worldwide live with the disease, according to the Parkinson's Foundation.
Shares in Roche traded 2% lower in European midday trade. The drug had a high development risk all along, Vontobel analyst Stefan Schneider said in a research note.
Roche's update came just days after UCB's trial setback, which meant the outcome was largely anticipated, Bryan Garnier Research analysts said in a note.
UCB on Monday said its minzasolmin experimental drug, which also targets alpha-synuclein, didn't meet primary or secondary clinical goals in a phase 2 trial. The company said it would terminate an extension phase of the program in light of the lack of evidence of clinical benefits.
The results will have implications beyond Parkinson's disease and are likely to affect Alzheimer's disease research, Bryan Garnier Research analysts said.
Write to Helena Smolak at helena.smolak@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 19, 2024 08:05 ET (13:05 GMT)
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