Roche Pill Helps Patients With MS But Raises Liver Concerns (1)

A Roche Holding AG experimental drug helped patients avoid multiple sclerosis relapses in a study but raised red flags about liver side effects that have also hobbled a rival medicine.

The pill, called fenebrutinib, cut relapses by 51% after almost two years of treatment in a late-stage trial compared with an older drug, Roche said Monday. The shares fell as much as 3.5% in Zurich, reducing their gain so far this year below 10%.

Roche is racing against Sanofi to bring an MS pill to market to defend its multiple sclerosis franchise before its blockbuster Ocrevus approaches patent expiry ...