Roche (RHHBY.US) pushes for R&D reform, plans to launch 20 new drugs

Roche (RHHBY.US) plans to launch 20 new drugs to tackle diseases that will pose the greatest burden on society in the current decade. The company is seeking to kickstart its development pipeline. Roche said in a report on Monday that its goal is to double the number of patients using its drugs between 2020 and 2029. The company is also seeking to improve the success rate of its key late-stage clinical trials by about a fifth. The company has struggled in recent years to overcome this hurdle before drugs are approved.

After a series of failures in cancer and Alzheimer's disease treatments, Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker is seeking a new direction. The new goals are the result of a year-long overhaul of the company's development efforts. Roche is now seeking to challenge Novo Nordisk (NVO.US) and Eli Lilly (LLY.US) in the growing market for weight-loss drugs.

Roche said its current drug portfolio will last at least until 2027. Thomas Schinecker has trimmed Roche's pipeline and focused the company on five categories: cardiovascular disease, eye care, immunology, neuroscience, cancer and hematology.