Roche Drug Candidate Hits Target in Late-Stage Study for Autoimmune Disease

By Adria Calatayud

Roche Holding said a drug candidate for an autoimmune disease known as IgA nephropathy met the primary goal of a late-stage clinical study, paving the way for the company to seek regulatory approval.

The Swiss drugmaker said Wednesday that interim results from a continuing study of its investigational medicine sefaxersen showed it significantly reduced proteinuria--a key indicator of kidney damage--in people with IgA nephropathy, which is also known as Berger's disease.

The company said it would share the study's interim data with health authorities with the aim of bringing the treatment to the market as soon as possible.

The data pointed to the drug's potential to reduce the so-called urine protein-to-creatinine ratio, which is associated with the preservation of long-term kidney function, Roche said. The safety and tolerability results of the medicine--a once-monthly subcutaneous injection--were consistent with known data, it added.

"Sefaxersen may therefore offer a new treatment option to help slow disease progression and potentially reduce the long-term need for dialysis or kidney transplantation," Roche Chief Medical Officer Levi Garraway said.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 23, 2026 01:50 ET (05:50 GMT)