As Herceptin biosimilars eat into Roche sales, Swiss drugmaker makes case for expanded Kadcyla use
As the biosimilar sharks bite into the sales of Roche’s decades-old blockbuster Herceptin, the Swiss drugmaker is betting on the broader use of Kadcyla, an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) that attaches a chemotherapeutic agent on to Herceptin to thwart cancer cell growth.
Roche’s top-selling cancer treatment Herceptin saw a 16% drop in European sales last year after the launch of biosimilars in the middle of 2018, and fresh biosimilars are expected to hit the market in 2019. Meanwhile Kadcyla generated sales of 979 million Swiss francs ($981 million) in 2018, and is currently approved for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer that has progressed despite treatment with Herceptin and chemotherapy.
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