Roche Not Alarmed by Obesity Drug’s Side Effects, R&D Head Says

Roche Holding AG said it isn’t concerned about side effects in a small study of a weight-loss shot, after details about the trial sent shares tumbling on Monday.

“We’re not alarmed at all,” Hans Clevers, head of pharma research and early development at Roche, said at the opening of a research center in Basel. “This looks as good as any other in this class.”

What’s important is that no patient in the trial for obesity drug CT-388 stopped treatment, Clevers said. Roche’s other weight-loss candidate, the pill CT-966, has the potential to be “best in class,” he added. Details ...