Roche has terminated development of CT-173, a long-acting PYY analog that was being developed for obesity, and has also removed several other early-phase assets from its pipeline. The decision was disclosed as part of the Swiss drugmaker’s second-quarter financial results.
CT-173 was acquired in December 2023 through Roche’s $2.7 billion purchase of Carmot Therapeutics. The molecule was designed to mimic the gut hormone PYY, which supports insulin secretion in response to blood glucose and helps regulate appetite. Roche had intended to begin a Phase 1 trial of the asset this year, but the company has opted to stop development before clinical testing.
Teresa Graham, CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals, addressed the discontinuation during a conference call held alongside the quarterly update. “This is a very early stage program … and ultimately, when we bounced it up against our bar assessment, the criteria for developability and competitiveness just weren’t there, and so we made the decision to terminate it,” she said.
The decision comes months after Roche highlighted CT-173 in a 2024 investor event. At the time, Manu Chakravarthy, M.D., Ph.D., global head of cardiovascular, renal and metabolism product development at Roche, presented preclinical findings which showed that combining CT-173 with the GLP-1/GIP dual agonist CT-388 led to a “very deep and fairly sustained reduction in body weight, way above and beyond either agent alone.” Chakravarthy also noted that the combination helped address weight plateaus typically observed with GLP-1-based treatments and showed potential to reduce weight rebound after stopping therapy.
Despite these preclinical observations, Graham stated that CT-173 “was a very early-stage program” and emphasized that its termination “has very little impact on the overall obesity portfolio.” She added that Roche remains “very confident” in its current pipeline, which she described as “a potentially best-in-disease and highly competitive portfolio of products.” According to Graham, the company’s assets are structured to align with different subsegments of the obesity market, including treatment of comorbidities and varying degrees of weight loss.
Roche’s CT-388 remains a key part of the company’s obesity development strategy. The molecule, also sourced from the Carmot acquisition, showed in Phase Ib testing that once-weekly subcutaneous administration could reduce body weight by 18.8% versus placebo. Roche expects Phase III-enabling data for CT-388 by the end of the year.
In addition to CT-173, Roche also discontinued four other early-phase candidates. These include three oncology assets and one ophthalmology program. One of the oncology assets, eciskafusp alfa, is a fusion protein combining an anti-PD-1 antibody with a variant IL-2 cytokine. The company began a Phase 1 study of the molecule in 2020 but ended enrollment last year before reaching its original target. A separate bladder cancer study was also withdrawn prior to enrolling any participants. Roche had previously paid $250 million in 2022 for a PD-1-regulated IL-2 program from Good Therapeutics related to this work.
Roche also dropped RG6614, a USP1 inhibitor acquired from KSQ Therapeutics in 2023. Although USP1 inhibition had been investigated for its potential in DNA damage response, the Phase 1 trial showed very limited responses. The study has now been closed, with the planned completion date moved forward.
Another oncology candidate, developed by Vividion Therapeutics and designed to inhibit the DNA repair enzyme WRN, was also removed from Roche’s pipeline. The drug has since returned to Vividion, which is continuing the Phase 1 trial.
Lastly, Roche discontinued RG7921, an investigational eye disease candidate. Initially developed for neovascular age-related macular degeneration, Roche began listing retinal vein occlusion as the lead indication in 2023. Public details about the molecule remain limited.
In its second-quarter report, Roche recorded earnings of 15.504 billion Swiss Francs, or approximately $19.6 billion, reflecting an 8% increase year-over-year. Top-selling products included Ocrevus ($2.18 billion), Hemlibra (nearly $1.6 billion), and Vabysmo (approximately $1.32 billion).
