
Roche regains pre-pandemic sales footing, highlights bursting pipeline — with one key failure
While many pharma fortunes are tied to Covid-19 pandemic peaks and valleys, Roche’s connections are more complicated than most, born out in its 2021 financial reporting.
On one hand, its always top-of-mind diagnostics business, bolstered by antigen and PCR testing, saw soaring sales, up 29% to CHF $17.76 billion ($19.3B) in 2021. On the other hand, its pharma business — while beginning to rebound by year’s end with growth 2% higher than analyst expectations in Q4 — moved up just 3% in 2021 ending with sales of CHF $45.04 billion ($49 billion).
And there are more ups and downs likely to come. For 2022, Roche is predicting a strong first quarter for Covid tests and diagnostics but expects a drop-off after that.
Roche Group CEO Severin Schwan laid out two main scenarios the company is gauging — one in which Covid-19 remains in a “steady state” and a second in which the virus dies out with Omicron as the last wave. For now, Roche is basing its guidance for the year on a slowdown of infections, and the need for testing, in the second quarter and beyond.
Total sales rebounded to CHF $62.8 billion ($68.2 billion) in 2021, up from $58.3 billion in 2020 and $61.5 billion in 2019.
Beyond Covid and its effects, Schwan highlighted Roche’s pipeline in his “absolute favorite slide” showing three drug launches — Susvimo and Vabysmo in ophthalmology and Polivy in first-line — along with the filing and launch of two CD20xCD3 bi-specifics mosunetuzumab and glofitamab drugs in cancer, four Tecentriq adjuvant studies and four tiragolumab + Tecentriq studies, plus three other result readouts. It also included four diagnostic pipeline launches set for the year.
Roche reported it started 16 Phase III trials in 2021 with now a total of 14 new compounds in Phase III or filed for approval. But the global player also quietly signaled a complete flop in its late-stage pipeline.
Last fall Roche executed a quick retreat from the Phase III pipeline when etrolizumab, once known as RG7413, got the ax for ulcerative colitis after putting it in 4 late-stage studies on UC. But it kept trucking on 2 other Phase IIIs for Crohn’s disease.
Until recently.
In the latest quarterly update, the pharma giant finished wiping up the program, noting that the drug had failed to make the cut in Q4 for Crohn’s disease as well.
There’s no explanation, as is usual in these small print burials. But earlier, Cowen’s Steve Scala had highlighted the drug as a potential star player, which had been angling to carve out a position for itself in a highly competitive field.
Also out in the Q4 culling: mid-stage drugs for autoimmune diseases (RG7835, a conjugate of IL-2 and IgG), metabolic diseases and NASH (RG7992, a bispecific of anti-FGFR1/KLB, BFKB8488A), and choroideremia (RG6367). Phase I studies for melanoma and hypoparathyroidism also got cut.
Schwan described 2022 as “a very, very important year, in particular on the pharma side.”
Evaluate analysts agreed, especially the Tecnetriq/tiragolumab studies, highlighting four pivotal readouts.
“The big question will be whether tiragolumab’s huge pivotal programme suggests significant activity in any of the other tumour types Roche highlighted at today’s fourth-quarter presentation,” analysts wrote in a post Thursday.
Along with Tecentriq combinations and indications, one of the “other” pipeline drug readouts being carefully watched is gantenerumab in Alzheimer’s disease with results expected now for the fourth quarter.

When asked about the timing and results, CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals Bill Anderson said he’s confident the results will be ready in Q4 and discussed the current Alzheimer’s environment with Biogen’s Aduhelm drug facing criticism, skepticism and low uptake. The recent CMS draft guidance to hold off paying for Aduhelm except through clinical trials has everyone going through it with “a fine-toothed comb,” he said.
“What it comes down to is that physicians, patients, payers want compelling evidence. In this particular case for various reasons, they seem to be — um yeah — voting with their feet that they don’t seem to have that yet.”
He added regarding Roche’s own trials: “We’ve been compelled since we started the Graduate program with gantenerumab that we need two deliver large, robust studies run to the end. … We want to basically have the longest reasonable study we can run with 100% of patients at the maximum dose. And that’s what we’re going to be delivering in Q4 this year. And I think that’s the best anyone can do.”
Roche is readying two newly approved treatments for launch, Susvimo for wet age-related macular degeneration and Vabysmo for diabetic macular edema and wet age-related macular degeneration. Vabysmo approved just days ago faces a tough battle for share with the well-established Regeneron’s Eylea.
On the competition front, Roche losses are finally beginning to slow — the fourth quarter marked its first positive growth in the US after six negative quarters thanks mainly to biosimilars encroachment on its three major cancer meds — Avastin, Herceptin, Rituxan.
Overall, Roche calculated losses to biosimilars at $4.5 billion CHF ($4.9 billion) for 2021 but anticipates a lower $2.5 billion effect in 2022.