Roche (RHHBY) Presents Positive Data On IPF Drug Esbriet

Roche Holding (SIX:ROG) AG (OTC:RHHBY) announced new retrospective data analyses for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) drug, Esbriet.

The new data was presented at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2017 International Conference.

Data from three post hoc analyses of the pooled phase III studies, ASCEND and CAPACITY, showed that IPF patients when treated with Esbriet may experience a reduction in the risk of death, reduction in patient-reported breathlessness, and longer progression-free survival (PFS) with fewer respiratory-related hospitalisations compared to placebo.

Moreover, the retrospective analysis in real-world data patients showed that patients have a good adherence. Also, 76.2% of Esbriet patients persisted on therapy.

Per the press release, approximately 100,000 people in the U.S. and 110,000 people in Europe are affected by IPF.

We note that Esbriet is already approved in the U.S. for the treatment of adults with mild-to-moderate IPF. The new data further reinforces the efficacy of Esbriet in treating IPF.

We remind investors that Roche acquired InterMune in Sep 2014, and added Esbriet to its portfolio. Roche’s respiratory portfolio consists of drugs such as Xolair in severe asthma, Pulmozyme for cystic fibrosis, and Esbriet for IPF. In addition, Alecensa, Avastin® Tarceva, and Tecentriq are approved for the treatment of specific types of lung cancer.

Roche’s share price shows that the company has outperformed the Zacks classified industry year to date. The stock is up 20.4% compared with the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry’s gain of 10.7%.

Roche has a strong presence in the oncology market. The company dominates the breast cancer space with strong demand for HER2 franchise drugs with candidates like Herceptin, Perjeta and Kadcyla.

We are also impressed by the company's efforts to develop its portfolio beyond oncology into immunology.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Roche currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) , Aldeyra Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALDX) and Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) . While VIVUS sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both Aldeyra and Zoetis carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

VIVUS’ loss per share estimates narrowed from 50 cents to 39 cents for 2017 over the last 60 days. The company posted positive earnings surprises in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average beat of 233.69%.

Aldeyra’s loss per share estimates narrowed from $1.79 to $1.69 cents for 2017 over the last 60 days. The company posted positive earnings surprises in three of the four trailing quarters, with an average beat of 7.8%.

Zoetis’ earnings per share estimates increased from $2.32 to $2.34 for 2017 over the last 60 days. The company posted positive earnings surprises in all of the four trailing quarters, with an average beat of 9.82%.

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