Roche drops Actelion deal

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding is ending a deal with biotech Actelion to develop a drug to treat autoimmune diseases, continuing a portfolio overhaul that began after its Genentech buy. Roche's drug review has already hit Danish biotech company Genmab, which said on Friday the Swiss group would discontinue development of an experimental cancer drug, and could affect others as well, according to industry analysts. Actelion said on Tuesday it would continue developing ACT-128800 and would book $88.7 million in deferred revenue from the initial deal, which included an upfront payment from Roche of $105 million over the next six months. The biotech firm is currently conducting mid-stage clinical trials of ACT-128800 in multiple sclerosis and psoriasis. Actelion now has 100 per cent of the rights to the drug rather than having to share them with Roche but will miss out on potential milestone payments of between $350 million and $400 million, and will bear the full cost of development. Shares in Actelion had slipped 1.3 per cent to 59.35 Swiss francs by 0912 GMT, underperforming a 0.3 per cent rise in the DJ Stoxx Healthcare index, while Roche was almost flat at 168.90 francs.