U.S. Revenue: $19.5 billion (up 8.3%)
Global Revenue: $39.1 billion (up 3%)
Top Brands: MabThera ($7.3B), Avastin ($6.8B), Herceptin ($6.8B), Perjeta ($1.8B), Actemra ($1.7B)
R&D Spend: $9.9B (up 3%), 25% of revenue
Planned Launches: Ocrevus (MS)
Upcoming Patent Expirations: Xolair, Rituxin, Herceptin
The FDA made patients, providers, and investors very happy when it approved Ocrevus in March. Analyst forecasts of $4 billion in sales by 2022 and the prospect of diversifying its product portfolio beyond cancer are equally alluring. New medicines ushered to market last year included Cotellic, Alecensa, and Venclexta, jointly commercialized with AbbVie. And Tecentriq got the FDA green light in an underserved bladder-cancer market before securing approval in NSCLC. The Swiss giant tends to rank high on the R&D spend chart, dedicating about $9.9 billion in 2016. Deep investments on the drug development front should help the company rebound when Rituxan, Herceptin, and Avastin lose market exclusivity. Roche buried the hatchet with Mylan, clearing the way for its Herceptin biosimilar. Roche is counting on Perjeta and Kadcyla to fill the void left by Herceptin. An early-stage breast-cancer agent achieved solid Phase III data.
