New Roche Data at 2021 AAN Highlight Neuroscience Portfolio

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) today announced that new data for its approved and investigational medicines for the treatment of neurological disorders will be presented at the 73rd American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting being held virtually April 17-22, 2021. These new data include 23 abstracts highlighting the expanding Roche neuroscience portfolio across six therapeutic areas, including EVRYSDI™ (risdiplam) for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), OCREVUS^® (ocrelizumab) in relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (RMS and PPMS), investigational Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi) fenebrutinib in Phase III trials for RMS and PPMS, ENSPRYNG^® (satralizumab) in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), and data from investigational programmes in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Huntington’s disease (HD).

“Following U.S. FDA and global approvals for our groundbreaking therapies in SMA and NMOSD, Roche’s data at AAN reflect our continued commitment to meaningful therapeutic progress for people living with neurological disorders,” said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., Roche’s Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development. “We are proud to collaborate with patient advocates, academia, industry and the broader healthcare community through cutting-edge research and partnerships to advance the scientific understanding of neurological conditions, which have historically been among the hardest disorders to study, diagnose and treat.”

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)
Roche will present data from five studies from the EVRYSDI clinical development programme, which was designed to represent a broad spectrum of people living with SMA. The programme includes infants aged 2 months to adults aged 60 years with varying degrees of disability, including people with scoliosis or joint contractures, and those previously treated for SMA with another medication.

New 2-year findings from Part 2 of the Phase II/III FIREFISH trial show longer-term efficacy and safety of EVRYSDI in infants with symptomatic Type 1 SMA treated with EVRYSDI. This includes the number of infants able to sit without support for 5 and 30 seconds, a key motor milestone not normally seen in the natural course of the disease, as well as data on event-free survival and reduced hospitalisations.

Additional data being presented across EVRYSDI’s broad clinical trial programme include updated data from the JEWELFISH trial evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of EVRYSDI in patients previously treated with SMA targeting therapies, as well as updated pooled safety analyses from the FIREFISH, SUNFISH, RAINBOWFISH and JEWELFISH trials.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Roche will be presenting data from its MS Franchise, including five presentations covering OCREVUS and results from studies on the investigational BTKi fenebrutinib. Real-world data continue to show the highest persistence and adherence to OCREVUS, the only MS therapy with a twice-yearly dosing schedule, over one year compared to other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). Additionally, a post-hoc analysis of the ORATORIO Phase III PPMS study will be presented, which suggest OCREVUS significantly slowed atrophied T2-lesion volume accumulation, a subclinical measure of disease progression. Furthermore, interim analysis of the open-label Phase IIIb ENSEMBLE study shows OCREVUS treatment provided consistent benefit over one year in patients who were recently diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and had not received prior DMT.

Roche is continuing to advance the science in MS and is exploring the investigational medicine fenebrutinib. Data from fenebrutinib, a highly selective, non-covalent, reversible oral BTKi, support its safety profile in several autoimmune diseases and high potency, which is encouraging for the ongoing Phase III studies in RMS and PPMS. Fenebrutinib is a dual inhibitor of both B-cell and myeloid lineage-cell activation, which may offer a novel approach to slowing disease progression by targeting both acute and chronic inflammatory aspects of MS.

Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD)
Roche will present five sets of data on adults living with NMOSD. Data from the Phase III SAkuraStar and SAkuraSky clinical trials reinforce the favourable safety and efficacy of this therapy for those living with NMOSD, including patients with concomitant autoimmune diseases (CAIDs).

New longitudinal, observational data from the CIRCLES study, conducted in collaboration with the Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation, a patient advocacy organisation dedicated to funding research on NMOSD epidemiology, pathogenesis and treatment, will also be presented. The CIRCLES study explored factors that influence treatment change in people living with NMOSD, including those who have experienced only one relapse.

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Roche will present data on the increased use of home nursing capabilities in the Phase III GRADUATE studies of gantenerumab during the COVID-19 pandemic, which enabled home-bound trial participants to continue dosing to maintain medicine exposure.

Gantenerumab is a late-stage investigational anti-beta-amyloid antibody being evaluated in two Phase III studies (GRADUATE I and II), which are the only late-stage AD clinical trials to offer subcutaneous administration. We expect data from the studies in 2022.

Huntington’s Disease (HD)
Roche will also present an analysis of the Enroll-HD study and REGISTRY database, which will highlight the role that genetic factors and medical history may have in predicting the rate of disease progression in HD. These data may help advance the understanding of HD and inform future treatment approaches for this rare, neurological condition.

The full range of data from Roche’s clinical development programme in neuroscience being presented at 2021 AAN include: