Roche believes that its anti-obesity drugs may have an advantage over other, more established rivals, such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, thanks to the ease of scaling up to meet growing demand.
Swiss drugmaker Roche will accelerate the launch of its anti-obesity drugs following the continued success of rivals Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly in the weight loss market.
The company’s diet pills and injectables are already expected to hit the market by 2028. The drugs were acquired by Roche after it bought biotech company Carmot Therapeutics last January.
The acquisition gave Roche access to a Phase 2-ready subcutaneous injection product that could potentially be a stand-alone treatment and could be used in combination with other weight loss treatments. This injection is suitable for patients with or without type 2 diabetes.
Roche currently has access to another subcutaneous injection tablet in Phase 1, suitable for patients with or without diabetes, as well as for patients with type 1 diabetes.
The company also said other weight management drugs acquired through the Carmot acquisition are in development.
Commenting on the first half 2024 results release, Roche CEO Thomas Schineker said: “Our strong sales growth in the first half of 2024 reflects strong demand for our innovative medicines and diagnostics. In the second quarter, we saw an acceleration in our growth rate, with group sales no longer affected by the drop in sales related to COVID-19, resulting in very strong sales growth for the group. Based on our strong half-year results, we are raising our full-year earnings forecast. »
The company also received several regulatory approvals over the past three months, including marketing approval for its early-stage lung cancer drug Alecensa, as well as marketing approval for a subcutaneous injection form of Ocrevus.
Why is Roche accelerating sales of its drug?
According to Grand View Research, the global weight management market was valued at approximately $142.58 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow by 9.94% annually through 2030. So other drugmakers like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have already made their mark. Wegovy and Mounjaro, respectively, already have a significant lead over Roche in the market with their drugs.
By speeding up the launch of the slimming drug, Roche can provide a better chance of market penetration. Due to the synthetic production of the company’s drugs, it is expected to have certain advantages over its competitors, such as ease of adaptation on a large scale. Roche also plans to restructure, focusing on a smaller but more effective and profitable group of drugs, such as Alzheimer’s disease treatments and weight loss.
However, problems remain. The Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk drugs currently offer higher weight loss percentages than Roche’s treatments at 15% and 20%, respectively, compared to Roche’s 6.1%.
Roche has also recently faced a number of research challenges that could force the company to adjust certain processes to succeed with its weight loss offerings.