Roche gives R&D update
At its investor day on Thursday, Roche (SIX:ROG; OTCQX:RHHBY) said it hopes to file for regulatory approval of up to 35 line extensions for existing products and 16 NMEs by 2014. The company also expects up to 13 NMEs to enter late stage trials this year. However, CEO Severin Schwan also told investors the pharma's R&D investment in 2010 will likely be slightly lower than 2009 levels, driven primarily by the completion of several late stage studies of cancer antibody Avastin bevacizumab.
Roche also unveiled the newly established Roche Pharma Early Research and Development (pRED) group, headed by Jean-Jacques Garaud. Five disease-focused discovery and translational areas (DTAs), each led by a head of discovery and a head of translational medicine, have replaced the pharma's disease biology areas (DBAs), which were led by four-person cross-functional teams (See BioCentury, Feb. 12, 2007). ...