Cowen was among Wall Street firms to downgrade Roche Holding (OTCQX:RHHBF) (OTCQX:RHHBF) soon after the Swiss pharma giant said on Monday that its experimental therapy for Alzheimer's disease, gantenerumab, did not meet the main goal in two Phase 3 trials.
The announcement marked the latest setback in the quest to develop a successful treatment for memory-robbing disease.
In June, Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) said that crenezumab, another investigational medicine for Alzheimer's, failed a clinical trial for people genetically susceptible to the disease.
"Gantenerumab's failure is not a surprise but still disappointing, and follows setbacks for other key pipeline assets tiragolumab and giredestrant," Cowen analysts wrote, referring to two other cancer drugs that failed to meet main goals in mid and late-stage trials.
While Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) has several pivotal readouts in the years ahead, the company's future will now depend on its early-stage programs, which are unlikely to bring clarity to its growth prospects, the analysts added, downgrading the stock to Market Perform.
The trial setback also prompted Stifel to downgrade Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) to Hold from Buy. However, the company remains a favorite among analysts with four Strong Buy ratings on Wall Street.