The Performance of Roche’s Tarceva, Actemra, and Other Drugs

Roche’s (RHHBY) Tarceva generated revenues of 141 million Swiss francs in the first quarter compared to 211 million Swiss francs in the first quarter of 2017, which reflected an ~32% YoY (year-over-year) CER (constant exchange rate) decline and a 31% sequential decline.

In the first quarter, in the US, Europe, and Japan, Tarceva generated revenues of 61 million Swiss francs, 30 million Swiss francs, and 17 million Swiss francs, respectively.

Tarceva is used to treat metastatic NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer). The high competition in the NSCLC drugs market primarily attributed to the decline of revenues of Tarceva in the first quarter. In the marketplace, Tarceva faces competition from AstraZeneca’s (AZN) Tagrissio and Iressa, Eli Lilly’s (LLY) Portrazza, and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Gilotrif.

Actemra reported revenues of 499 million Swiss francs in the first quarter compared to 445 million Swiss francs in the first quarter of 2017, which reflected ~13% YoY CER growth. In the first quarter, in the US, Europe, and Japan, Actemra generated revenues of 192 million Swiss francs, 172 million Swiss francs, and 73 million Swiss francs, respectively, representing ~15%, ~9%, and ~14% YoY CER growth.

Actemra is used in rheumatoid arthritis, cytokine release syndrome, giant cell arthritis, polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis. In the market, Actemra’s peers include Amgen’s (AMGN) Enbrel, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (BMY) Orencia, and AbbVie’s (ABBV) Humira. In the first quarter, Enbrel and Humira reported revenues of $1.1 billion and $4.7 billion, respectively.

Roche’s Lucentis and Activase/TNKase reported revenues of 393 million Swiss francs and 323 million Swiss francs, respectively, in the first quarter, reflecting ~6% and ~8% YoY CER growth.

In the first quarter, Roche’s Xeloda reported revenues of 102 million Swiss francs compared to 104 million Swiss francs in the first quarter of 2017, which reflected an ~2% YoY decline.

Roche’s Tamiflu generated revenues of 292 million Swiss francs in the first quarter compared to 270 million in the first quarter of 2017, reflecting ~11% YoY CER growth.

In the first quarter, in the US, Europe, and Japan, Tamiflu generated revenues of 161 million Swiss francs, 21 million Swiss francs, and 74 million Swiss francs, respectively.