Roche Ramps Up Alzheimer's Drug Trial as Rivals Stumble

Roche Holding AG believes it has moved into pole position in the race to develop an Alzheimer's drug that can change the course of the disease after its rivals suffered setbacks in the past month. The Swiss drugmaker has more than doubled the size of a clinical trial of its experimental drug gantenerumab in patients who have yet to develop dementia, putting it in the vanguard of attempts to catch the disease in its early stages. "The playing field has changed dramatically and gantenerumab is now the most advanced monoclonal antibody in early Alzheimer's and the next big news to read out in this space," Luca Santarelli, Roche's head of neuroscience, said in an interview.