Roche Holding AG will spend around 5 bln sfr on R&D this year in order to accelerate development of new products, including acquisition of licences and new alliances, chief executive Franz Humer said.Speaking at the company’s presentation of first half results, Humer said the pharma group plans to file for market approval of around 25 new drugs over the next five years.Overall, Roche has 63 pharmaceutical ingredients in its pipeline as of end-June 2004.The peak sales potential of Pegasys and Copegus are estimated at around 2 bln sfr, Bill Burns, head of the pharma division said. The hepatitis-C drugs posted combined sales of 783 mln sfr in the first half.Roche remains sceptical regarding a cooperation with competitor Novartis AG, Humer told journalists on the sidelines of today’s presentation.Novartis -- which currently holds a 33 pct stake in Roche -- has repeatedly expressed its interest in a merger.
