Rizal Philippines | January 23, 2014
From Trefis
Roche, the Swiss drug manufacturer is having a banner year on account of its strong performance on oncology drugs. Sales and net income are up, and its latest drug Kadycla has been approved by EU. Much of its performance has come from pharmaceutical products: $ 18,6 billion and $5.13 billion on diagnostics. /$3.3 billion comes from oncology drugs. 85% of company's value cancer drugs.
First pharma reports that the total sales for oncology pharma reached $50 billion in 2013 and Roche dominated the market with its top 3 onco drugs controlling 40% of total market:
Rituxan - $7,156 for lymphoma
Herceptin - $6,683 for HER 2+ breast cancer
Avastin - $6,150 for colorectal, lung, breast, cancer, ovary cancer
Xeloda - 1,624 for breast cancer
Terceva 1,402 for lung cancer
(Since PHIL has highest incidence of breast cancer in in the PHIL, Roche must have a field day for Herceptin and Xeloda)
Is Roche into immunotherapies? Or just leader in oncology drugs?
Its strong performance comes these drugs: Herceptin, Avastin and MabThera/Rituxan — continue to lead in their respective segments. Together, these drugs accounted for nearly 40% of the company’s revenue in the first six months of 2013, and have been growing at healthy rates in recent months
Roche cancer therapy use immunotherapy of which there several modalities (from Wiki)
1. monoclonal
2 dendritic
3. adoptive T cells
In a patient with tumor or cancer, the body's immune system ignores the bodies which are the cancer cells.
Thus the cancer drugs are meant to provoke or strengthen the body's immunie system.
1. Adoptive T cells involve the vaccination of short peoptides that cause the body to produce tumor specific antigen. The ony approved vaccine is Sipulecuel T (Provenge)
2. Monoclonal antibodies. The advent of monoclonal antibody technology, it is possible to create antibodies specific to certain cells and they could be:
1. naked - stand alone antibodies
2. conjugated with a molecule or cell (that is toxic to the cancer cells.)
Some examples that have been approved: tositumab/iodine, rituximab, ipilumumab, ibiritumumab trixeutan, alentuzumumab, bevaxumimab, brentuximumab ventodin, cetuximab, gentuzumumab ozogomacin
There are natural products like medicinal mushorooms: like agaricus subrufescents, which are rich in protoglucans and beta glucans, which stimulate the production of macrophages (the bodies soldiers vs tumor and infection)
Dendritic cell therapy is difficult to administer and may not be worth mentioning here.
Some examples that have been approved: tositumab/iodine, rituximab, ipilumumab, ibiritumumab trixeutan, alentuzumumab, bevaxumimab, brentuximumab ventodin, cetuximab, gentuzumumab ozogomacin
There are natural products like medicinal mushorooms: like agaricus subrufescents, which are rich in protoglucans and beta glucans, which stimulate the production of macrophages (the bodies soldiers vs tumor and infection)
Dendritic cell therapy is difficult to administer and may not be worth mentioning here.
