Roche, Genentech and partners embark on global prevalence research, trend-spotting with digital analysis, and telehealth initiatives to assess & address deterrents to brain health to better understand holistic health journeys of patients with neurologic diseases
Long-term data to be presented demonstrate delayed MS disability with Ocrevus; reduced disease activity with Enspryng in NMOSD and with Evrysdi in SMA
Data from late-stage neuroscience pipeline to be presented, including efficacy and safety results from Phase II prasinezumab study in early Parkinson’s Disease
South San Francisco, CA — April 24, 2023 —
Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY), is announcing three new partnerships focused on improving brain health outcomes. These industry-leading initiatives are designed to quantify and assess the complexity, economic impact and patient and care partner burden of brain health conditions, and generate robust data around the nuanced dynamics of neurologic care. Conditions affecting the brain and nervous system cause more death and illness globally than cardiovascular disease, cancers, and all other conditions.1 Genentech is proud to partake in this groundbreaking collaboration with the University of Washington, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), PicnicHealth and Cleveland Clinic, and insights from these partnerships will be further discussed as part of Genentech’s presence at the 75th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting being held April 22-27 in Boston.
Roche and Genentech will also present 33 data abstracts spanning Ocrevus® (ocrelizumab) in multiple sclerosis (MS), Enspryng® (satralizumab-mwge) in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and Evrysdi® (risdiplam) in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), as well as from its broad pipeline of medicines being investigated in neuroimmunologic and neurodegenerative diseases, and neuroscience digital health and telehealth interventions.
“Diseases affecting the brain and central nervous system are associated with loss of more disability-adjusted life-years than almost any other condition,” said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., Genentech’s chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development. “With that in mind, we are committed to developing and delivering new medicines that address areas of highest need in neuroscience. Accordingly, we have more than a dozen investigational medicines that span a range of neurological conditions, with the ultimate goal of slowing progression and delaying disability for as long as possible.”
Commitment to Advancing Understanding of Brain Health and Neurological Disorders
Roche and Genentech are the number one investor in R&D among all healthcare companies, with $14.7 billion invested in 2022 alone, of which more than 20% was dedicated to evaluating therapeutic, diagnostic and digital technology interventions to discover and potentially address brain health disorders. As part of Roche and Genentech’s commitment to brain health, we have embarked on substantial new initiatives and expanded partnerships that aim to realize the full value of innovation to reduce disease burden, improve lives and help build more resilient and responsive health systems to meet current and future needs across the spectrum of brain health, including:
University of Washington, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) Brain Health Initiative
Roche and Genentech are proud to support IHME as a founding member in their newly launched Brain Health Collaborative. The multi-year effort will develop a view of the current and future burden of brain health conditions (mental, neurological and cerebrovascular) and create publicly available, interactive research tools including the Brain Health Atlas, which illustrates the global burden of health conditions measured over time and geographies, exploring the full economic impact of brain disorders globally, including analysis on total economic and social costs. This initiative will be featured as part of AAN’s Practice and Policy Hub session, featuring experts from Roche, IHME and other leaders on the emerging science and technologies of brain health on Wednesday, April 26 from 7:45-8:45 a.m. ET. See here for additional details.
PicnicHealth “BrainPower” Pan-Neuroscience Patient Experience Research
Genentech is initiating a neuroscience research study called BrainPower (Brain Patient Outcomes With Experience Research), an expansion of our five-year partnership with a patient-centered medical records healthcare technology company, PicnicHealth, to analyze longitudinal, real-world clinical data of people living with neurologic diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (EMPOWER AD), Myasthenia gravis (MG), and MS to identify common data trends and understand shared patient challenges across neurological disorders. This further builds on previously announced neuroscience partnerships in MS and Huntington’s disease. Details on the EMPOWER AD study with PicnicHealth will be shared in an oral presentation on Monday, April 24 at 8:00 a.m. ET.
Longer-term data to be presented at AAN to reinforce importance of early treatment and slowing disease activity and progression in MS, NMOSD and SMA
Across neurological disorders the main goal of treatment is to prevent disease progression to ultimately preserve function. Genentech will present 33 abstracts, including new long-term data for market leading Ocrevus in MS and Evrysdi in SMA, including: