Roche Moves Secret Heart Drug to Phase III Trial

Roche Holding AG (ROG) is planning a final-stage trial of a drug that taps into a gene mutation to lower cholesterol and heart attack risk beyond what statins such as Pfizer Inc. (PFE) (PFE)’s $9.6 billion-selling Lipitor can do. The experimental treatment, developed by the drugmaker’s Genentech unit, has been tested in enough people to show it reduces bad cholesterol as expected, said Hal Barron, chief medical officer at Basel, Switzerland-based Roche. Roche hasn’t published data on the drug or mentioned it in news releases.

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