NVO Novo Nordisk

By Denise Roland

Roche Holding AG (ROG) said its experimental hemophilia drug succeeded in a late-stage clinical trial, a result that could see the Swiss healthcare giant grab a slice of a market currently dominated by Shire PLC (SHPG) and Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO).

Basel, Switzerland-based Roche said its drug, known as emicizumab or ACE910, significantly reduced bleeding in patients with a complicated form of haemophilia A--a rare disease that impairs the body's ability to form blood clots--when given as a preventative treatment.

The drug targets the roughly 20% of hemophilia A patients who have developed inhibitors to standard therapy. Those patients are currently given so-called inhibitor therapy, a market which is currently dominated by Shire.

Peter Welford, analyst at Jefferies, said he expected sales of Shire's inhibitor therapy Feiba to decline 5% to 7% each year following the launch of ACE910.

Still, given that ACE910 targets only a narrow population of hemophilia A patients, Mr. Welford said he expected Shire's overall hemophilia franchise to grow thanks to its products aimed at the majority of patients who have not developed resistance to standard therapy.

The threat of Roche's ACE910 therapy was a major concern for investors when Shire acquired Baxalta for around $32 billion earlier this year. But Shire chief executive Flemming Ornskov argues that hemophilia patients are reluctant to switch therapies when they are well-controlled on their current treatment.

Hemophilia affects around 20,000 people in the U.S., according to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control. Around four in five of those cases have hemophilia A.

Roche shares were up 0.4% to $227.79 at 1050GMT. Shire shares were down 0.32%.

Write to Denise Roland at denise.roland@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 22, 2016 05:22 ET (10:22 GMT)

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