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Roche dealt setback as Avastin misses trial goal

April 22, 2009 — 8:00am ET | By Maureen Martino

Roche's stock dropped 10 percent in Swiss trading following the announcement that Avastin did not meet the primary endpoint in a highly-anticipated Phase III trial. The trial tested whether Avastin plus chemotherapy prevented the return of tumors in early-stage cancer patients who had already had surgical tumor removal. A positive end to the test could have led to billions more in sales for Avastin, which is already a blockbuster. "It's a major setback for Roche," Roland Maier, the head of investment at BB Biotech in Zurich, told Bloomberg. "The use of Avastin in the adjuvant setting was a major part of the growth strategy."

"While we are disappointed the C-08 study did not meet its primary endpoint, our initial review of the data leads us to continue to believe Avastin may be active in patients with early-stage colon cancer and look forward to NSABP's presentation at ASCO," said Hal Barron, M.D., senior vice president, Development and chief medical officer, Genentech. He said the company would continue studying Avastin as an adjuvant for early-stage colon, breast and lung cancers.

The study results call into question whether Roche overpaid for Genentech. The Swiss company initially offered $86.50 for the biotech, but after months of pursuit, eventually paid $95 per share for Genentech. That $46.8 billion buyout would have been a much better deal if billions more in Avastin sales had come with it. "Right now, at face value, probably they could have gotten Genentech at a lower price," said Vontobel Group analyst Andrew Weiss in a WSJ report. It will take more testing find out if Avastin works for early-stage cancer, and in the long term, that will determine whether Roche overpaid for Genentech.

- see Roche's release
- read the Bloomberg article
- here's the WSJ piece